The Smash Freshmen
by prastarkeepers
Summary: This story follows the adventures of the three newcomers Villager, Rock/Mega Man, and the Wii Fit Trainer Jazz as they train and prepare to compete in the Fourth Annual Smash Tournament. Meanwhile, Mario and the other founders face the threat of an invasion of villains as well as a mysterious new adversary.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Newcomer

Super Smash Brothers.

A tournament founded almost four years before by eight of the mightiest warriors from all around the universe: Super Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, the great ape Donkey Kong, Link the Hero of Time, bounty hunter Samus Aran, Yoshi of Yoshi's Island, Kirby of Dreamland, ace star pilot Fox McCloud, and the electrical Pokémon Pikachu. Ever since then, the tournament had been hosted annually. Each time, the eight founders invited new heroes and warriors from around the universe to compete. This year, the tournament was opening once again. The founders had gathered once again and began making decisions as to the combatants. The first few invitation letters had been sent out and stages were being constructed.

The Smash Grounds loomed in the distance as a lone traveler trudged up the path leading to the front gate. A young boy known only as Villager hiked up his backpack and straightened his hat.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself. Villager was short, with small legs and a large head. He wore a red shirt and his backpack was full of an assortment of random things he had grabbed from around his house that he thought might be useful. Villager gulped at the sight of the tournament he'd always dreamed of joining. So far, he had always lived a simple life as the only human in a small town full of talking animals. The most exciting thing he had ever done was move to the town. Ever since the tournaments started, he had submitted applications every year with the far-flung dream that he'd ever be considered. Then, two days ago, he received a surprising acceptance letter marked with the smash seal.

Now that he was here, Villager was starting to have second thoughts. He'd always dreamed of holding his own against the greats, but as he got closer and closer he felt hugely outclassed. He honestly wondered if they had gotten his letter mixed up with someone else's. He looked up at the banner over the gate. It was emblazoned with a large circular symbol with an off-center crosshairs. On each side of it were four emblems representing each of the eight founders: A mushroom for Mario, a large DK insignia for Donkey Kong, a triangle made up of three smaller triangles for Link, a circle with a lightning bolt through it for Samus, a spotted egg for Yoshi, a star for Kirby, a wolf silhouette with wings for Fox, and a Poke Ball shape for Pikachu.

Villager stepped up to the gate and tentatively put his hand out to it. He pushed it open, taking his first step inside the Smash Grounds. He gasped as he looked around. The foundations of several stages were already under construction. He could see the four platforms of the original Battlefield nearby. In the sky above floated a reconstruction of Link's home, the Skyloft. In the distance stood a stadium, and next to it was a training studio. A giant base with a skeletal face on the front of it and a large "W" rose menacingly on Villager's left. Far off stood a separate section with stages he couldn't make out. The one stage that really took his breath though was splayed out right in front of him: A large stage that recreated his hometown of Animal Crossing, with a large flat platform hanging above it.

"This is . . . my stage."

A gloved hand placed itself on Villager's shoulder. "Yep, it sure is," a well-known Italian voice said.

Villager turned around to find Mario himself standing behind him. "Mr. Mario, sir!" he said in excitement.

Mario smiled. "Welcome to Super Smash Bros., Villager," he said, shaking Villager's hand. "I'm glad to see you got my letter."

"Yeah, um, I got it," he mumbled.

"Good," Mario said, "We're glad to have you here."

"Yeah, I guess." Villager was once again reminded of how outclassed he felt.

Mario smiled as though he understood what was going through his mind. "You'll do fine. I believe you'll do great things."

"But, you and all the others are so much more experienced," Villager said, "You've all done so much."

"That may be true," Mario said, fixing his hat and stroking his mustache, "But we all started out in the same state you are now. Today is just the start of _your_ adventure. Don't worry too much."

Villager put on a half-hearted smile. "I'll try my best."

"That's a good lad."

A small pink bubble creature with a face and tiny arms waddled up to Mario and tapped him on the shoulder. "Mario, we need your consultation on the new Super Mario stage."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there," Mario said, "Kirby, have you met our newcomer Villager."

Villager's jaw dropped. Now he was standing before _two_ of the founders. Kirby looked Villager up and down, stood on his tiptoes, and waved his little arms above his head. "HI!" he said in his trademark move. Villager gawked speechlessly.

"He . . . he . . . he did the move . . . he said the line . . . he . . . ," Villager stuttered, trying to compose himself while simultaneously geeking out.

Kirby raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyway," Mario said, "Perhaps you should give the kid his dorm number before he passes out."

Kirby nodded. He pulled a key of out thin air and handed it to Villager. "Room 5," he said, "The complex just beyond Dr. Wily's Fortress. You'll be rooming with another newcomer."

"Th—thank . . . you . . . ," Villager mumbled.

"The orientation for newcomers is at six," Mario told him, "See you then. Now, Kirby, let's get to the construction site. I'm thinking something to do with Super Mario Galaxy, maybe some funky effects with the gravity . . . ."

Their voices trailed off as they made their way to one of the distant construction projects, leaving Villager alone. Villager found the complex Kirby had told him about and used the key to open the door to Room 5. As he opened the door, he heard loud noises from inside, as though chunks of metal were being thrown around. Stepping into the room, he discovered it was from his roommate, who was currently digging through a suitcase full of tools and scrap metal.

"Um, excuse me," Villager mumbled.

The roommate looked up. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary human with a completely blue outfit and helmet, but as Villager looked closer, he realized the boy was a robot and his human face was simply synthetic. In the place of a left arm he had a large blue laser cannon.

"Oh, hey," the robot smiled cordially, "How's it going."

"You're Mega Man," Villager stuttered, once again so stunned he could barely speak.

Mega Man blushed a little. "Yep, that's me," he said, "Although, you can call me Rock. Or Mega Man, if you like. It doesn't matter, I'll answer to both. So what do they call you?"

"V-Villager," Villager said, "from Animal Crossing. Don't you work for the Capcom organization, not Nintendo?"

"Yeah," Mega Man replied, "I'm kind of a special guest. Like Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog last year. Remember that."

"Of course," Villager said, "that was the coolest thing ever when they joined last year."

"Well, I'm the next. Nice to be working with you." Mega Man extended his non-gun hand and shook Villager's. "You can pick whichever bed you want. I'm easy as long as I'm near an outlet." He pulled a cord out of his side. "Robot, you know."

"Right," Villager smiled. "Well, I guess I'll take the far bed, then."

"Cool," Mega Man said. He found what he was looking for in his suitcase and flopped onto the other bed. "Good to meet you, Villager."

Villager grinned and hopped onto the next bed. He put his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling, excitement flowing through him as he imagined what it would be like to finally take part in the greatest tournament in history.

Standing atop the recreation of Dr. Wily's fortress and looking out over the slowly rising Smash Grounds, the evil King Bowser grinned maliciously. The wind blew through his fiery red hair and over his yellow reptilian skin. He pulled absentmindedly at the spiked bands around his neck and wrists and hefted the heavy spiked shell on his back.

"So," he grumbled in his deep gravelly voice, "Mario's starting up another Super Smash Bros. tournament, eh? I think this would be a good opportunity to cause a few problems for my dear old friend."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Opening

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a familiar announcer's voice called out through the loudspeakers over the stadium, "Please welcome your hosts, the Super Smash Founders!"

Villager and Mega Man were currently sitting in special front row seats in the new Stadium that had been built for this year's tournament. All around them, Toads, Koopas, Gorons, Zoras, Kongs, Kremlings, Waddle Dees, and various other species from all around the universe had been gathered to watch the opening ceremonies for the Fourth Smash Tournament. The stage in the center looked like a boxing or wrestling ring with the Smash's crosshairs symbol in the center of the mat.

"Please, welcome," the announcer continued, "the shocking, the electrifying, the most well-known Pokémon of all time! PIKACHU!"

Some unseen person somewhere in the middle of the crowd threw a Poke Ball onto the stage. The ball sprang open and a blast of white light spilled from it. A small creature emerged from the light. He was small, with bright yellow fur, a lightning shaped tail, and bright red cheeks that emitted sparks. He sat up on his back legs and waved at the audience with his two front paws.

"Pii-ka! PIKA!" the little creature said in Pokémon speak.

The announcer continued. As soon as it announced the name Fox McCloud, a sleek star fighter zoomed down from high above, and a shadowy figure ejected from it. The figure landed on the mat and stood, revealing a humanoid fox wearing a star pilots' uniform. He was followed by a bright yellow star-shaped object that crash-landed onto the stage, depositing the small pink form of Kirby next to him.

"HI!" Kirby said, waving to the crowd.

A small doorway of light opened behind them all and a tall statuesque figure stepped out. Samus Aran strode onto the stage wearing her red, orange, and yellow armored suit and carrying her helmet under her arm, revealing a slender, feminine face and long blonde hair in a ponytail. Although the crowd cheered heartily for her, Samus didn't wave or do anything flashy like her comrades beside her. She simply stood with an air of stoicism, her icy blue eyes scanning the audience.

A sharp wind blew through the stadium, culminating in a small twister beside Samus. Within the twister appeared the form of a teenage boy with blonde hair, pointy ears, green clothes, and an Elvish cap. Strapped to his right arm was an iconic blue shield with markings from the land of Hyrule. In his left hand, he carried a sharp steel blade Villager knew as the Master Sword. Villager knew this fighter well. He was probably the most famous warrior in the entire tournament, second only to Mario. The defender of Hyrule. The Hero of Time. Link.

Link waved to the audience, casually flipped his bangs, and strode over to a wooden barrel in the far corner of the stage that no one had been paying attention to. He tapped the barrel sharply with his knuckles. "Come on out, Monkey Boy," he said, "The show is starting."

As soon as he said that, the barrel started rumbling around like there was something in it that wanted to get out. With a loud crack, the barrel burst into tiny splinters, revealing a massive brown-furred gorilla with a red necktie emblazoned with the letters "DK." The gorilla pounded his chest as his fans in the audience went wild.

"And now," the announcer said, "the man you have all been waiting for! Your host and master of ceremonies! Give it up . . . for MARIO!"

A green metal pipe emerged from the Smash symbol in the center of the stage. After a momentary pause, the form of Mario shot up out of the tube. "WAHOO!" he said.

The crowd exploded with applause as Mario swept of his trademark red hat and bowed to them all. With a resound _CHOONK CHOONK CHOONK, _the pipe vanished back into the floor.

Kirby handed Mario a mike. "Hello, everybody," Mario said, his familiar voice booming over the loudspeakers. "Welcome to the fourth annual Super Smash Bros. tournament!" He paused so that another round of applause could pass through the audience.

After they were finished, he continued. "We still have a long way to go before we open, but as I'm sure you all saw as you came in, there is a lot being done. We're planning a lot of great new stages, we have selected several excellent newcomers, and we may even throw in a surprise or two. One of the first surprises I would like to reveal at this time is that, unlike the previous years, we will be hosting this year's tournament at not one but two venues: here, and also in that separate section over there that you all may have noticed as you came in."

A wave of muttering swept through the crowd as they took in this news.

"Now," Mario said, "Let me introduce you to our combatants. I'm sure you all know my fellow founders."

The crowd applauded again as the six standing behind Mario waved. "As you may notice," Mario pointed out, "My friend Yoshi could not be here with us tonight. He's dealing with a bit of a . . . yarn problem. I'm sure he will be with us shortly."

He and the other founders kept on cheery faces for the crowd, but Villager got the feeling there was some unspoken concern passing between them. He wondered if this "yarn problem" was the whole story.

Mario continued. "Also joining us tonight, a tournament regular for the past two years: my . . . friend, King Bowser."

Flames burst from a spot on the mat and the imposing form of Bowser emerged from within. The massive turtle-dragon breathed flames into the air and stomped forward to present himself to the audience. A chorus of hisses and boos rumbled through the crowd.

"Bowser has courteously agreed to help us in the setup for the tournament," Mario said, shaking Bowser's hand cordially. He met his eye cautiously. After a few seconds, he broke away. "Also joining us is our newcomer from last year, who has agreed to train our new recruits: PIT!"

A pillar of bright light descended on the stage from above and a winged figure in a bright white tunic descended. The angel was young, about the same physical age as Link with uncombed brown hair and golden laurels resting on his ears. In his hand, he held a shining blue-and-yellow bow. He swept over the stage waving as the crowd cheered him on. He looked at Villager and Megaman and gave them a thumbs-up. He landed next to Samus.

"And now, if they will kindly come to the stage, our first two newcomers Villager and Mega Man." The crowd cheered as Villager and Mega Man stood. Link and Fox held open the ropes surrounding the stage, allowing the two to step through. They stepped onto the stage, and Villager looked around as thousands of people cried his name. Mega Man waved, and Villager figured he should to. The two stood before Mario and the others.

Mario shook their hands. "Welcome to the Smash Bros."

Villager smiled as Mario gave him a reassuring nod. He looked around at the faces of his new opponents, each of them giving him a supportive and welcoming grin. Everyone that is, except for Samus, who was coldly looking him over as though he didn't live up to her expectations, and Bowser, who was simply staring at him like a piece of fresh meat.

The next morning, a pair of wings fluttered outside of Mario's dorm room just before he heard a swift knock on his door. He looked up from his papers. His roommate Donkey Kong was currently snoring deeply in the next bed. Mario put on his hat, set down the papers, and answered the door.

"Delivery for Mario," a familiar voice said.

"Good morning, Parakarry," Mario said to the cyan-shelled Paratroopa that had acted as his postman for several years. "Word from Yoshi?"

"Not yet," Parakarry replied. "I do have a letter from your brother though."

Mario felt a little disappointed. He hadn't heard from Yoshi in several weeks and he was starting to become worried. He took a deep breath. "Thanks, Parakarry," he said, taking the package from him. He pulled out a golden coin from his pocket. "For your trouble."

Parakarry took the coin. "Awesome, lunch money," he said, "See you around, Mario."

With that, the turtle spread his feathery wings and flew off into the sky. Mario looked at the package in his hands. It was a small paper parcel with a letter taped to the front. Mario pulled off the envelope and opened it.

_Dear Mario,_

_I hope things are well on your end. I would like to say my mission to recruit secret fighters is going well, but I'm sad to say that this is not the case. Two days ago, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and I were meeting with a couple of candidates that we were considering: our friend Toon Link from last year's tournament, as well as a member of the Balloon Fighter Corps named Ace. During our meeting, our location was bombed. I am happy to say that Toon Link and I got out unscathed, and Captain Falcon and Ness only sustained minor injuries. Sadly, Jigglypuff is in critical condition and it's currently unclear if she will recover or not. Ace is currently missing. We were only able to recover his hat, which I have enclosed in hopes that you might be able to hold onto it. I have also sent Toon Link your way and he should arrive within the next few days. Currently, we do not know who perpetrated the bombing, but I found an interesting symbol at the sight. A circle with a line stretching from the left side to the center. The symbol of the Subspace Army. I will continue to look into this and write back soon._

_Your brother,_

_Luigi._

Mario read the letter over again. He quickly opened the small parcel to reveal a small red cap with two flat red balloons attached to it. The hat of a Balloon Fighter. Mario looked at the hat and then back at the letter.

"Luigi," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Wii Fit Trainer

"Alright, guys," Pit said, "welcome to Day One of training."

Villager rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and straightened his hair. Pit had gotten them up at six in the morning, at least three hours earlier than Villager was accustomed to. Standing next to him was Rock, who showed no signs of fatigue at all. _Stupid robot_, Villager thought to himself. The three were now standing in the center of the Smash Grounds as the sun rose over the distant mountains. All around them, the skeletons of slowly forming stages rose ominously from the ground.

"So, is it true another newcomer's arriving today?" Rock asked.

Pit grinned and chuckled to himself. "You're just going to have to wait and see. Follow me."

As they walked, Pit started asking them questions. "So, what kind of skills do you guys have?"

He looked at Rock. "Well," Rock said, "One of my basic abilities given to me by Doctor Light is the power to assimilate the weapons of defeated enemies into my own body. I have equipped a number of the weapons I picked up over the years to use in the tournament."

"Excellent," Pit said, "And what about you, Villager?"

Oh, um," Villager said uncomfortably, "I don't really have any skills."

"Oh, sure you do," Pit pushed. "You must have some special talents or something. Mario and the other founders wouldn't have chosen you if you didn't."

Villager was reminded of Samus's disdainful look the night before. "Well," he said, "I mostly just brought stuff I picked up from around my house."

"Well, let's see some of them," Pit said.

"Yeah, come on, Vil," Rock said.

"Don't call me Vil," Villager said as he reached into his pocket. The pockets on his trousers were just about the most special thing on his person. He could store an endless number of objects within them and pull them out at a moment's notice. He pulled out a butterfly net.

"I have this," he said.

"Possibilities," Pit said thoughtfully.

Villager continued to empty his pockets, pulling out a small hatchet, a bowling ball, a potted plant, a shovel, a pair of boxing gloves, a slingshot, and a small firecracker launcher.

"Well," Pit said, looking over the pile of stuff, "I'd say we could definitely work with some of this stuff. Those are some interesting pockets you have there."

"Yeah, they're hammerspace pockets. My mom made them for me."

"Those could definitely come in handy." Pit led them to the door of the finished training studio next to the stadium. "Here we are." He opened the door to allow them inside.

Villager and Rock stepped inside to see a large room with white, blue, and green walls. Mario, Link, and Kirby were currently standing in yoga positions at the far end of the room being coached by a tall, statuesque woman with pale white skin and yoga clothes. Samus and Pikachu were training separately at another end of the room, Donkey Kong was busy beating the crap out of a nearby sandbag, and Bowser was watching in amusement.

"This is the Wii Fit studio, isn't it?" Villager asked.

"Yes, sir," Pit said, looking around proudly, "Not only is this our center for training in the months leading up to the tournament, but it will also be one of our stages once the tournament starts."

"Awesome," Rock said. He and Villager stared around in awe.

"Hey, where's Fox," Villager asked.

"He's taking care of some business," Pit said, "He'll be here soon. Now, let's join Mario, Link, and Kirby with the trainer, shall we?"

Pit led them over to where the three founders were currently standing with their arms stretched over their heads and one leg in the air. The pale white trainer was currently walking around them, observing their form. Mario lost his balance a little. She tapped him on the shoulder, and all three turned to look at her. She pulled a yoga move where she stamped at the floor in front of them, which somehow blasted all three into the wall.

"No, no, no," the trainer said, "What kind of form is that? You three are a disgrace to the name of yoga."

Mario, Link, and Kirby sat up rubbing their heads, looking a little sheepish. "Can she do that?" Villager asked Pit.

Pit shrugged. "It's her gym."

The trainer looked at the three newcomers. "And just what do we have here?" she asked, looking them over.

"Three for the next hour of yoga training," Pit said. Villager and Rock groaned.

The trainer nodded. "I see," she said, "Well, get into positions and we'll get started."

For the next hour, the trainer forced Pit, Villager, and Rock to put their bodies into positions that Villager didn't even think were possible. Soon, his small, underused muscles were screaming at him. Next to him, Rock had popped his artificial limbs out of place on at least more than one occasion. Pit however did not seem to be having any trouble at all. It must have something to do with being an immortal angel or something like that.

After about forty-five minutes of sheer torture, Villager leaned over to Pit. "Is this really a necessary part of our training? I don't see how any of this is going to be used in the ring."

Pit smiled. "You'd be surprised."

A shadow fell over Villager, and he looked up to see the trainer standing over him. "What's your name, shortstack?" she asked, glaring down at him with her pale gray eyes.

"V-Villager, ma'am," he said. Despite the unnaturally white skin, she had a very pretty face and didn't look that much older than Villager himself, but right now she looked absolutely terrifying.

"Villager, huh?" she said, "Considering your performance here today, I think it's more like Villa-germ. Or maybe Germ for short." She crouched down to look him straight I the eye. "So, you don't think yoga is _necessary_ to your training, huh, Germ? Would you like to see just what yoga can do?"

Villager gulped. "N-no, ma'am," he said.

She stood, ignoring his last answer and walked over to a small pile of supplies nearby. She pulled out a small silver box and opened it. A small glowing Smash emblem floated out and she caught it in her left hand. She positioned herself right in front of Villager, Rock, and Pit, and grinned at them. With the slightest clench of her hand, she destroyed the emblem, allowing its glowing energy to transfer to her. The room grew slightly darker.

"Let's see how you fare against this," she said, jumping into the air. She focused the energy swirling around her, and released it. Villager, Pit, and Rock found themselves being bombarded by silhouettes of her in various yoga poses made of sheer energy. The three were blasted back against the wall. After a few seconds the bombardment ended and the attack's three victims slumped to the floor.

The trainer stepped up to them and put her hands on her hips. "Had enough?" she asked with a smug smile.

Villager sat up. "She . . . she used a final smash," he stammered, "But . . . only competitors in the tournament are authorized to use those, aren't they?"

He looked at Pit, who grinned. "Oops," he said, "Did I forget to mention that she is the newcomer who was arriving today?"

Rock shot straight up. "Wait, what?"

Mario walked up to the group chuckling and placed his hand on the trainer's shoulder. "Villager, Mega Man," he said, "Allow me to introduce your newest competitor, Wii Fit Trainer."

Wii Fit Trainer grinned and crouched to look Villager in the eye again. "I look forward to kicking your butt with my unnecessary yoga when the tournament begins," she said.

On the other side of the gym, Bowser scratched his chin as he watched the interactions between the new recruits. "Interesting," he mumbled to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: UP B

Bowser stood on a small balcony in Dr. Wily's Fortress, watching as a group of his minions heaved a gigantic wooden box onto the main laboratory floor. He pressed a large red button on the control panel in front of him, causing the shadowy image of an older scientist with gray hair and a large mustache to appear before him.

"I must thank you, Dr. Wily, for your generous donation to my operation," Bowser said.

"No problem, King Bowser," the figure replied, "Just remember that this beast is very unstable and should be handled with great care. Do not let it out of its confinement until it is absolutely necessary. Also make sure you are well out of its path when you do."

Bowser chuckled. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't be the one to let it out."

"Alright, guys," Pit said, leading Villager, Rock, and the Wii Fit Trainer onto the central platform of the stage based on Villager's hometown, "Today, we will be covering aerial techniques. As the main part of this stage is in the air, I felt that this would be an excellent stage to practice on without too much danger."

Villager glanced nervously at the edge of the stage no more than ten feet away. He was inwardly kicking himself because he hadn't packed anything even remotely flight capable. He looked at his comrades Rock and the Trainer, neither of whom seemed to show any trace of his concern. Rock probably had a rocket launcher or something that would get him up in the air. As for the Trainer, Villager couldn't imagine what she could possibly use to become airborne, but after seeing her final smash, he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"Now," Pit continued, "One of the primary methods of getting airborne is what we call an UP B move. Are you all familiar with those?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Most if not all of these UP B moves that our various fighters have used have been capable of allowing the user to recover or become airborne. A few examples of those that do not do so include our long runner Jigglypuff and one of our founders, Yoshi. However, as they were both largely capable of becoming airborne on their own, they found little reason to require it to."

"But, so are you," Villager pointed out, "And your UP B will still get you higher."

Pit grinned. "Yes, that's true," he said. "Would you all like me to demonstrate?"

The three nodded. Pit jumped into the air, flapping as high as he possibly could. When his wings had run out of steam completely, he closed his eyes and focused. In a matter of seconds, his wings turned blue and he was able to fly even higher than before, the glowing blue wings carrying him up and up. Eventually they too ran out of steam, and Pit floated gently back down to the ground. Pit stretched and flexed his wings. "Sometimes it pays to be one of the best fliers in the tournament."

Rock and the Trainer both nodded thoughtfully. Villager was sure that they both had ideas for what they could use. As for him, he had absolutely no idea what he was going to use.

"Now, do any of you have an idea of what you can use?" Pit asked.

"I got one," Rock said eagerly.

"I am ready as well," the Trainer said.

Villager mumbled incoherently.

Pit nodded. "Alright, alright," he said, "We can work with this. Wii Fit Trainer, as you are our newest arrival, why don't you go first?"

"Alright," she said. She flicked her hand and three colorful hula hoops appeared out of nowhere.

"Hula hoops?" Rock scoffed, "What do you think you'll be able to do with those?"

He nudged Villager, who laughed as well. Maybe Villager wasn't so hopeless if that was all the Trainer could come up with. Trainer glared at the two of them, then slipped all three hoops around her body. She started them spinning, moving her body in time to keep them going. As they spun, she started to glow a little. After a matter of seconds, her feet left the ground and she floated up into the sky. Villager and Rock stopped laughing and stared as she floated over their heads. After a few moments she floated back down to the ground.

"Well done, Trainer," Pit said, "How about you, Rock?"

Rock stepped forward. He placed his fingers in his mouth and whistles. After a few seconds, Villager thought he could hear a faint bark out in the distance. A small black shape zoomed toward them through the sky. As it got closer, Villager could see that it was bright red in color. Soon, he could make out a distinctly canine shape. A few second later, the newcomer touched down. It was a dog completely made of metal just like his owner.

"Meet my dog, Rush," Rock said, patting the dog on the head. The dog panted excitedly and licked his owner's face.

"How is this going to help you get into the air?" Villager asked.

"Simple," Rock replied with a thumbs-up. He jumped onto a small circular platform on the dog's back. A spring under the platform activated the moment he landed, rocketing him into the air. Rock did a double flip before landing in a pose.

"Ta-da!" he said.

"Well done," Pit said. He looked at Villager. "What do you got?"

Villager bit his lip. He started pulling items from his pockets. Bowling ball? No. Axe? No. Fireworks? Maybe he could sit on them or something and let them shoot him upwards? Villager shuddered at the very thought. His net? Maybe he could catch air with it or something? He raised the net into the air. Nothing. He swished it around, trying everything he could to try and get it to do something.

"Wow, germ," Trainer said mockingly, "That's _really_ impressive."

Villager dropped his net, realizing how silly he looked. Rock leaned toward him. "You got anything else, buddy?" he whispered.

Villager started going through his pockets again, but came up with nothing. He dropped his head. "No," he mumbled.

"How's the training going?" a familiar Italian voice said.

Villager looked up to see Mario approaching. "Mister Mario, sir," he said, jumping to attention.

"We've just been discussing UP B moves," Pit told Mario. "We've run into a problem because Villager can't find anything to use."

_Great,_ Villager thought_, tell the head of the tournament that his new recruit can't even do a stinking UP B move._

Mario looked down at Villager and scratched his chin. "You know, I just might have something you can use for the time being," he said. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a small red cap with a pair of balloons tied to it. "This belonged to a member of the Balloon Fighter Corps," he explained, "Luigi was recruiting him to be a secret fighter, but due to certain circumstances, he . . . may not be joining us after all. Perhaps you can put the hat to some good use."

"Are you sure?" Villager asked.

Mario shrugged. "It's better than just letting it collect dust on my desk."

Villager tentatively took the hat and placed it on his head. As soon as he put it on, the balloons started to fill themselves with air. Soon, the hat was lifting him into the air.

"Whoa!" Villager said, looking down on the stage and his fellow fighters.

"How does it work?" Mario called up.

"It's awesome," Villager said, "This is amazing. Um . . . how do I get down?"

Link sat at the guard station overlooking the front gate. Mario had stationed him here to keep an eye out for his old friend Toon Link, who was supposed to be arriving soon. He had his feet up and he was currently playing tunes on his ocarina with a bottle of Lon Lon milk sitting on the table next to him. His constant fairy companion Navi was floating nearby, observing a bush just outside the booth.

He was halfway through an epic rendition of the _Super Mario Bros._ theme tune when Navi interrupted him. "Hey, listen," she said, "Listen. Hey, hey, listen. Someone's coming."

Link put down the ocarina and sat up. Navi was right. Emerging from the trees in the distance was a lone figure. From this distance, Link could just barely make out a short stature and bright green clothes.

"Toon Link," he said, hopping out of the guard booth and hurrying to open the gate. He hurried down the trail toward his old friend. As he got closer and closer, he could see that something was very wrong. Toon Link was staggering along slowly, and now that Link was closer. He could see bright patches of red mingled with the green of his tunic and hat. Soon, it became apparent that Toon Link had been attacked or something. He had a black eye, a vicious cut on his leg, and deep red blood matted his blond hair and stained his tunic. His shield was cracked almost in two, and his sword was nowhere to be seen. He staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing to the dirt.

"Toon Link!" Link said, rushing to his side and raising his head up.

Toon Link's eyes flickered and he tried to say something before passing out completely. "Navi," Link said, "Find Mario! Quickly!"

"Okay, Link," Navi replied, hurriedly zipping back toward the Smash Grounds. Link stood, hefting his little buddy into his arms and hurrying back down the trail.


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright, guys," Pit said, "Good work today. We'll start again tomorrow. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep. Dismissed."

Pit spread his wings and took off, leaving Villager, Rock, and the Wii Fit Trainer to themselves. Rock's dog Rush was running around exploring the Animal Crossing stage around them.

"So," Rock said, "How about we all go have some fun? We could check out some of the new stages they're building."

The Wii Fit Trainer scrunched her nose. "Pit said we should get some rest. I plan on doing just that," she said.

Rock looked at Villager, hopeful that he would be game. Villager bit his lip. "I, um, think we should do as Pit says," he mumbles.

The three made their way to the small ramp leading off of the stage platform and onto the dusty ground of the primary smash grounds, Rush right on their heels. "Oh, come on," Rock said, "You two are no fun. We are in the middle of the grounds for the Fourth Super Smash Bros. Tournament, surrounded by stages in production, and all you guys want to do is sleep."

"It's not that I don't want to check out the stages," Villager said, "I just don't want to get in trouble."

"In trouble with who?" Rock said, "We're smashers now the same as the founders."

"Yeah, but they could still kick us out," Villager said.

Rock rolled his eyes. "They've already announced us. I don't think they'd kick us out."

"That's easy for you to say," the Trainer snapped. "You're their special guest. Of course they wouldn't kick you out."

Rock raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Trainer scowled. "Never mind," she said, turning away.

Rock shrugged. "I still don't think we'll get in that much trouble for staying up late."

"Probably not," a deep voice said from behind them, "But you might for going into some of the unfinished stages."

The three turned to see the imposing form of Bowser standing behind them. The giant turtle was sweating and had a two-by-four slung over his shoulder. He looked like he had just come from the nearby Dr. Wily's Fortress.

"Oh, um, hi, King Bowser . . . sir," Rock said, "We, uh, didn't see you there."

Bowser chuckled. "That's alright. But I meant what I said though. Stay out of the unfinished stages. It could be very dangerous. Like this one behind me. Um, Dr. Wily's Fortress, is it? Either way, that one's currently under a lot of construction. It's a shame you guys don't get to see it yet though. Trust me when I say it may very well be the best stage this year. And, do you guys want to know a secret?"

Rock and Villager both nodded. The Trainer did nothing. Bowser continued. "Deep inside the stage, there's a secret training help that if a fighter were to use it, could give them an edge in the tournament."

This perked up Villager's interest. Something like that could definitely help him get over his feelings of being the underdog. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like it was dangerously close to cheating.

"You guys didn't hear it from me, though," Bowser said. He winked at them and moved on to wherever he was going.

"Okay, now I have to check out that stage," Rock said, "It is technically my stage anyway."

"But we can't," Villager said, "You heard Bowser. It's off-limits."

"I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Well, I'm not getting involved," the Trainer said haughtily, marching off toward her dorm.

"Who needs her anyway," Rock said, "Rush and I will go by ourselves if we have to. How about you, Vil? Are you coming?"

Villager bit his lip. "I don't know," he said, "It could be dangerous."

"Oh, come on. You're a smasher now. You can handle it."

"Alright, I guess it could be fun. But when it's darker out, so we don't get caught."

Sure enough, a couple hours later, Villager found himself sneaking onto the Dr. Wily's Fortress lot with Rock and Rush. They climbed over the yellow tape surrounding the area and approached the massive imposing structure. A small wooden walkway led up to an assortment of platform on top of the base that made up the main battle arena of the stage.

"Do you want to go up there?" Villager asked.

Rock looked up at the platforms for a minute considering.

"Nah," he said, "I'm curious to see what it's like inside the base. I want to know how faithful they were in recreating the fortress. How about you, Rush?"

Rush barked his approval.

"Okay, then, let's go," Villager said.

The three hurry to a small door on the side of the fortress. Rock tries the handle, happily finding it unlocked. The three slip inside and close the door behind them.

"Whoa," Rock said, his eyes lighting up and illuminating the area around them. The three were in a dark and futuristic-looking corridor with lots of wires running along the wall and various computer terminals. "This looks just like the place," Rock said ecstatically, "Come on, let's check it out."

The three ran down the corridors. After a long time and several turns, Rock and Rush finally slowed down in front of a large steel door. Villager caught up with them and stopped to catch his breath.

"This was the center of Dr. Wily's base," Rock said, "I'll bet that training device is in here somewhere."

He pressed some buttons on a nearby console, causing the doors to slide open. The three stepped through cautiously. The room was massive and spacious, with hundreds of consoles lining the walls, and a balcony above the door where a person could stand and oversee the production of whatever was being constructed in the room. Villager wasn't sure how accurate this was to the original, but it sure looked to him like the lair of an evil roboticist with a penchant for creating giant machines of mass destruction.

Standing in the middle of the room was a massive wooden crate at least twelve feet tall with similar length and width. The crate was shaking as though there were something really big inside desperate to get out.

"What do you think it is?" Villager whispered to Rock as Rush sniffed at its base.

"I don't know, I—"

Rock was interrupted as Rush began to howl. "What is it, boy?" Rock asked, "Do you recognize the smell?"

They heard something fall over on the other side of the crate. "What was that?" Villager asked.

He and Rock edged their way around the crate and came face to face with the Wii Fit Trainer.

"You?" Rock said, "What are you doing here?"

A guilty look crossed the Trainer's face briefly before she turned it back on them. "What are you two doing here?" she demanded, "You know this place is off-limits."

"Which brings us back to what are you doing here?" Villager said.

The Trainer bit her lip. "Th-that's none of your business," she said.

The three continued to argue as Rush continued to bark and howl at the crate. The crate started to rumble harder.

"Would you shut that stupid dog up already," the Trainer shouted over the racket.

Rock turned and patted Rush. "It's okay, boy, calm down," he said.

Rush stopped barking but continued to whine. The crate continued to shake and bump as though whatever was inside it was putting everything it had to escape. "Guys, I have a really bad feeling about this," Villager said.

A ping shot through the air. They looked at the front of the crate where one of the nails holding the box shut flew out of its position. Several more pings sounded as more and more nails shot free from the wood. With one last heave from the box's inhabitant, the front of the crate broke completely free from the rest and crashed to the concrete floor.

"Oh, no," Rock said, his eyes widening as he caught his first glimpse of the monster emerging from within the crate. Stepping heavily on its thick, slimy feet, a gigantic yellow blob with arms, legs, and a single oversized eyeball stood before the three newcomers. "We have to run. NOW!" Rock screamed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Yellow Devil

Mario and several of the other founders stood in the Smash Grounds' medical tent, looking over the unconscious, heavily-bandaged form of Toon Link. Mario's alternate-reality self, Dr. Mario, was currently checking his vitals.

"How is he, doc, um, me?" Mario asked.

Dr. Mario looked up at his alternate self. The two had met each other two years before when both took part in the second smash tournament. Since then, they had barely seen each other at all, except for last year, when Mario had extended another invitation to him, but he had turned it down, saying that he felt more at home at the hospital than in a battle arena. Despite this, Dr. Mario was always willing to give Mario help anytime he needed it, as was the case today.

"He'll live," the doctor said in an identical voice to Mario's. "But at the moment, he won't be able to fight in the tournament this year. He might recover in time, but it's hard to say."

Mario took a deep breath. "Alright. Thanks for everything."

Dr. Mario nodded. "Well, I should be getting back to the hospital. I'll check back in in a little while to see how he's doing." He packed up his equipment and headed for the tent door.

"See you doc," Mario said. "Any chance you'll consider coming back this year?"

Dr. Mario looked back at Mario. He considered for a second before replying. "I'll think about it," he said. With that, he lifted the flap and disappeared into the night.

Mario looked back at his fellows. In the tent with him were Link, Samus, Kirby, and Pit. Navi was currently floating around Link's head. Donkey Kong currently had sentry duty, Pikachu and Bowser had turned in early, and Fox was still busy with his secret mission.

"Did you see anything else when you found him?" Mario asked Link.

Link looked down at Toon Link. Like Dr. Mario, Toon Link was also a sort of alternate version of Link, with some slight differences in the details of their existence. Link shook his head. "No, there was nothing. Just him."

"What about in your letter from Luigi?" Samus asked Mario, "Did he mention anything about this?"

Mario shook his head. "No. In the letter, Luigi said Toon Link got out of the blast unharmed. This must have happened on the way here."

"Considering how fresh the wounds were, it probably wasn't that far from the Smash Grounds," Pit said.

Mario nodded.

"So what do we do about it?" Kirby asked.

Mario was about to respond when an alarm sounded. "That's coming from Dr. Wily's Fortress," Samus said.

"Samus, Pit, check it out," Mario said.

They both nodded and hurried out of the tent. Mario turned back to Link and Kirby. "Come with me, guys," he said. The three made their way out of the tent. Before they had gone more than ten feet, Donkey Kong came lumbering up to them.

"What is it, DK?" Link asked.

DK pointed with his finger to the sky above them. A small group of lights was slowly growing larger and larger. The three moved back as a small podlike spacecraft came to a landing on the soft dirt in front of them. A hatch opened on the ship as a small ramp descended. Out of the hatch appeared a short figure wearing a spacesuit with a glowing antenna on top of it. The newcomer was nearly bald, had a massive nose and pointy ears, and was followed by three small vegetable-like creatures.

"Am I late?" the person said with a smile.

Mario grinned. "Not at all, Olimar," he said, "You're just in time."

"Run, NOW!"

The giant's eye zeroed in on Villager, Rock, Rush, and the Wii Fit Trainer, its eye narrowing as it recognized two members of the party. The three turned and ran. The monster rumbled in rage.

"What is that thing?" Villager yelled.

"It's the Yellow Devil," Rock replied, "He and I have a bit of a history." Rock turned and fired off a laser blast from his arm. The shot bounced harmlessly off the beast's gelatinous body. "Crap! Everyone, watch out," Rock yelled, "He's going to start throwing his body parts at us!"

Villager and Wii Fit Trainer both paused for a moment. "What?" they both asked in unison.

"There's no time to—DUCK!"

Villager barely had time to move out of the way as a giant yellow blob of goo flung its way past him. He looked back to see that whole portions of the Yellow Devil were breaking themselves off from the main body and flying towards them. One of them shot straight for the Trainer, and she had to somersault out of the way. Another shot for Rock's legs, and he effortlessly jumped over it, quickly ducking back down to avoid another one higher up. After a while, the attacks stopped and the group turned to see that the globs had reformed themselves into the monster once again. It's single black eye again.

"Okay," Rock said, "No running. Aim for the eye. That's its weak spot."

He shot off a ball of light straight into the monster's eye. The ball impacted, and the monster flinched momentarily. It blinked a couple of times before glaring at them furiously.

"Um, Rock, are you sure that didn't just make him madder," Villager asked.

"Trust me, it works," Rock replied.

"Duck!" the Trainer warned.

The four dodged the flying yellow balls as the Yellow Devil launched its attack once again. Each jumped and dodged as well as they could and each managed to come out of it unscathed. They turned to see the monster reform once again.

"Come on," Rock said, "Everybody this time."

He started firing as many light balls as he could at the monster. Villager searched his pockets for anything that might be useful. He pulled out his bowling ball. _This could work,_ he thought. But the problem was that the monster's eye was too high for him to reach. He pulled out the Balloon Fighter hat Mario had given him and slipped it on. The balloons filled up with and and lifted him high into the air. He hefted the bowling ball, aimed as best as he could, and chucked the bowling ball straight into the eye. The monster howled in pain as the bowling ball fell to the floor with a crack. The beast blinked a few times and then glared straight at Villager. It swung its massive hand and knocked Villager clean out of the air. He hit the ground hard as the Yellow Devil stepped over him, shoved Rock, Rush, and the Trainer out of the way, and crashed his way out of the door leading out of the base.

"We can't let it leave the stage," the Trainer said. The three chased after it. They followed the wreckage caused by the monster's rampage through the Fortress's corridors and down a different route than the one the group had taken when they came in. The route led them upwards and upwards until Villager slowly started to realized where the route would eventually take them: The main stage platform.

Sure enough, the three found themselves at the front door of the fortress. The massive doors slid open to reveal the giant yellow globs of the Yellow Devil reforming themselves into the monster on the stage platform on the other side of a massive dent. Villager pulled out his hat once again. They were sure lucky that that's what they had learned about today. He slipped it on as the Wii Fit Trainer pulled out her three hula hoops. They took off into the air as Rock used Rush's springboard to propel himself after them. His jump didn't quite carry him the distance, but luckily Villager managed to catch him. Rock shot off a ball of light at the monster, bringing its attention back to the three.

"Come on, let's finish this guy off!" Rock shouted.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Mega Man's Fury

Villager, Rock, Rush, and the Wii Fit Trainer stood together on the small platform in front of Dr. Wily's Fortress facing the gigantic blob monster The Yellow Devil. The monster rumbled at them in a sort of mouthless roar. It closed its eye and its body began to separate once again.

"Everybody, move!"

Villager ran forward and ducked as a small blob flew past him. He stood and dodged to the left to avoid another, then used his hands to propel himself up and over a low-flying one. After they had all passed by, he found himself on the opposite side of the platform alongside Rock and Rush as the monster reformed behind them.

"Where's Wii Fit Trainer?" Villager asked.

The three looked around before spotting the Trainer on the small moving platform behind the monster. "What is she doing?" Rock asked.

The Trainer launched herself from the platform and clung to the top of the beast's head. She swung her legs up and around and landed a painful kick right in the monster's eye. The monster howled as the Trainer landed next to Villager and Rock. "Sometimes, I think it might be smart to get at least one projectile attack," she said, catching her breath.

"Right," Rock said, "Well, don't get cocky."

"The attack is coming again," Villager warned. The group dodged out of the way as the swarm of yellow blobs flew at them again. After it was over, they found themselves back on the side they started out on.

"Alright," Rock said. "Here's the plan. I'll stand on the moving platform firing off laser blasts, while you two try to get in close with your UP Bs, and hit him with your bowling balls and kicks."

Rush barked.

"Rush, you stay on the ground to provide a distraction. Go!"

Villager put on his balloon hat and lifted into the air. The Trainer ascended with her hula hoops right beside him. Balls of light flew past them, striking the monster, as the two maneuvered in towards the monster's eye. As soon as they felt their UP Bs starting to run out of juice, Villager pulled out his bowling ball and chucked it right into the devil's eye as the Trainer used her momentum to land another kick. The monster moaned in agony, sweeping out with its hand and knocking the trainer out of the way, sending her plummeting off of the stage platform.

"Oh no, Trainer!" Villager said. He swooped with the last bit of life his balloons had left and managed to catch her just in time. The balloons finally gave out as he hovered just a few inches above the platform.

"I got you," he said.

Wii Fit Trainer looked up at Villager. A part of her seemed to look grateful, but another part looked inexplicably upset. "I didn't need your help, Germ," she said.

Villager rolled his eyes. "Looked like it to me," he said, pulling her up.

"Guys, look out!" Rock shouted.

The Yellow Devil was blinking in fury. It abandoned its normal attack pattern and simply charged at them all. Villager and Wii Fit Trainer had barely enough time to react to get out of its way. The monster turned around to come after them again when it was distracted by Rush attacking its legs. The beast balled up its huge fist and, with one powerful punch, smashed Rush into pieces.

"Rush!" Rock shouted.

The monster raised its fist to reveal the shattered remains of Rock's dog. Most of his torso had caved in, with small broken pieces lying on the ground around it and a large crack in the spring plate. The dog's eyes had gone dark and a couple of its legs were lying separate from its body.

Villager and Wii Fit Trainer stood, looking stunned at what had just happened. The monster turned to them, hatred in its eye. "You monster!" the Trainer shouted, running straight for the beast, not noticing that its body was breaking apart into individual blobs.

"Trainer, watch out!" Villager said, shoving her out of the way and receiving the full brunt of a particularly massive blob. Pain ripped through his body as he realized that these blobs were even more powerful than he had imagined. He barely processed anything as he slammed into the steel of the platform and landed dangerously close to the edge.

"Vil!" Rock shouted.

"Germ!" the Trainer said.

Villager raised his head and blinked blearily at the two of them as a massive yellow object formed between them.

"That's it!" the Trainer shouted as she ran toward the beast and Rock hopped back onto the moving platform to cover her. She whipped out her hula hoops and spun them around her body, lifting herself into the air and throwing herself directly into the monster's face. She clung to the sides of its head and repeatedly kicked it in its eye. A yelp of pain escaped her lips as the monster grabbed ahold of her ponytail and pulled her off of itself. Using the ponytail, it whipped her around like a rag doll and slammed her against the ground before throwing her at Rock. Fortunately, Rock managed to grab her before she flew too far and set her down on the platform. She was out cold.

Rock looked up at the monster. He remembered all the times he had faced off against this thing and how easy it had seemed to defeat it. Now, here he was facing it again, after it had hurt his dog and two of his fellow newcomers. The question of how it had gotten here in the first place briefly crossed his mind, but right now, he was too angry to give it much though. He hopped down off the platform, landing next to the mangled body of Rush.

"Alright, Yellow Devil!" he shouted. "It's just you and me, just like old times. You want me, come and get me."

The monster's eye narrowed, and Rock could tell it remembered all those battles too. Rock quickly tapped a command into the small panel on its arm as the monster started sending blobs after him once again. Rock dodged out of the way and turned around to see it reforming. He pressed a final button on the panel. A pair of razor sharp circular saw blade ejected from his wrists and he threw them right into the Yellow Devil's eye the second its lid opened. He typed in another command and charged at the beast, jumping and firing blasts of electrical current into its eye. As soon as he was close enough, he balled up his fist and entered in a command that detached his arm and rocketed it right into the pupil.

Rock landed and backed up as the monster started to separated again. He dodged around the blobs, held up his arm stub so that his arm could re-attach, and turned around to face the monster again. He could see that the beast was near the end of its health and a strong enough hit might be enough to finish it off. He could see Villager stirring behind the monster. Villager caught his eye and gestured toward the platform's edge behind him. Rock nodded.

He typed in a command and shot a small glowing device that attached itself to the monster's eye. The monster flailed around, trying to get the device off of itself. Rock typed in another command, and started blasting fire at the monster's feet, driving it backwards to where Villager was waiting to trip it. Just before it reached Villager, Rock pressed a button on his arm, detonating the device on its face. The force of the blast, with some help from Villager, helped to knock over the beast, toppling it and sending it flailing to the sharp rocks below. Rock hurried to the edge to see the monster land hard on the ground below and dissolve into a lifeless pile of yellow goo.

Breathing heavily, Rock slumped to the ground beside Villager. "What a fight, huh?" he said. He could feel his battery slowly running out of juice.

"What do you three think you are doing here?" a familiar voice said behind them. Villager and Rock turned to see Samus and Pit marching toward them. From the look on their faces, they were not pleased.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Meeting Jazz

In the early morning hours the next day, six of the founders stood outside the gates of the Smash Grounds. Mario, Link, and Kirby were all carrying packs full of supplies.

"Samus, you're in charge until we get back," Mario said, "We shouldn't be gone too long."

Samus nodded. "Take care, you three," she said.

"I've contacted Fox," Mario continued, "He knows to alert you to any new information until I get back."

Samus nodded again. "Sir, wouldn't it be more prudent to call in some more experienced fighters. The newcomers you have right now are not exactly—"

"They did manage to take down the Yellow Devil on their own last night," Link pointed out.

"And look at the shape they're in," Samus shot back, "Not to mention that they did so in a restricted area."

"Oh, please, Samus," Kirby said, munching on a small piece of cake, "Like you've never broken a rule before. Remind me again, what's your current standing with the Federation?"

Samus scowled at him. "I did what I had to do," she said, "Not because I thought it would be fun." She looked back at Mario. "Mario, I just don't think they have what it takes—"

"Then make sure they do," Mario interrupted. "I have faith in them, Samus. Just as I have faith in you. I know you will do what is necessary."

Samus nodded. Mario turned his attention to Donkey Kong.

"DK, I'm counting on you to keep the Smash Grounds safe until I get back," he said.

The big ape pounded his chest and nodded excitedly. Mario reached down to pat Pikachu. "You too, Pikachu."

"PI-KAA," the little mouse squeaked, sparks of electricity flying from his cheeks.

Mario looked back at Link and Kirby. "Come on, guys, let's get going," he said. The three turned and headed down the dirt trail leading away from the Smash Grounds. They looked back just before they crossed the tree line.

"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Link asked.

Mario nodded. "I know they will be. Now, come on, let's go figure out what's hurting our friends."

The three turned away from the Smash Grounds and headed into the woods. Unseen by any of them, a shadowy figure watched them from the trees above. As soon as they were gone, it dropped down onto the trail, its feet making a resounding clank as it did so. It turned its attention to the Smash Grounds and grinned, its glowing metallic eyes beaming with malice.

Villager checked his map again. Pit had given him instructions to meet at a newly opened stage on the far end of the Wii U Area of the Smash Grounds. He looked up to see what looked more like a small fenced-in park than a battle arena. He looked over the barricade to get a good look. A flat dirt walkway ran through a pristine tree grove. Here and there lay abnormally large pieces of litter, but other than that it looked like the perfect place for a picnic. He checked out the small plaque in front of the barricade to see the insignia of a small flower: the symbol used by the fighter Olimar last year to represent Pikmin.

"Whoa, does that mean Olimar's coming back?" Villager muttered. He rubbed his shoulder where the yellow blob had hit him the night before. Despite severe aches and bruises, he had somehow managed to avoid any major injuries. Right now, he was more worried about what the consequences would be for their actions. After tending to their injuries and hearing everything that had happened, Samus and Pit had sent them back to their dorms, saying that this would be dealt with in the morning.

Villager started to open the gate to the stage when he noticed movement down below. Behind a patch of trees he could see the Wii Fit Trainer working out. Despite having suffered a severe concussion last night and having been instructed to spend the day taking it easy, she appeared to have no interest in doing so. She looked like she had already been going at this for hours now.

Villager quietly opened the gate and made his way down into the arena. He crept slowly across the grass until he was right behind her. "Nice day, isn't it?" he said.

The Trainer jumped and spun around, holding her hands up like she was expecting a fight. When she saw it was only Villager, she relaxed her arms. "Oh, um, it's just you," she said, "Good morning, Villager, what are you doing here so early?"

"What are _you_ doing here so early?" Villager replied, "I thought you were supposed to get some bed rest."

The Trainer shook her head vigorously and went back to working out. "There's no time for that," she said, "I can't afford to—"

She stopped, holding out her arms to keep herself steady. She blinked a few times like she was having trouble focusing.

"Hey, I think you need to sit down for a moment," Villager said, grabbing her arm and guiding her to a nearby piece of litter big enough to sit on.

"I'm fine," she said, halfheartedly trying to resist, "It's just a minor head wound. I can handle it."

"You're not going to be fine if you don't take it easy for a little bit."

Villager and the Trainer sat down on the litter. The two sat in silence for a minute as the Trainer rubbed her temples. Villager looked around at the serene setting of this year's Pikmin stage, flexing his shoulders to relieve some of the aching he was experiencing.

"What about you?" the Trainer asked , breaking the silence, "Were you injured very badly?"

"Nah," Villager replied, "I ache all over, but that's about it."

The Trainer nodded. She looked at the trees for a moment. "Thanks, by the way," she said, "For saving me. _Twice_."

From the look in her eyes, Villager could tell that she was very upset by the fact that she had to be saved twice. "It was nothing," Villager said.

The two sat in silence for a minute. Once again, it was the Trainer who broke it. "So, where's Mega Man?"

"Rock will be here soon. He went to go send Rush back to Dr. Light in order to get him fixed."

"Oh, good. I just hope it's not permanent damage."

Villager shook his head. "Rock's pretty sure Dr. Light can fix him. Of course, he seems pretty worried himself."

The Trainer nodded.

Villager remembered something he'd been wondering about. "Hey, um, Wii Fit Trainer?" he said.

She looked at him.

"What were you doing there last night anyway," he asked, "You'd been all 'we can't break the rules' and such, but then you snuck in anyway."

The Trainer looked away from him and closed her eyes. Villager wondered for a minute if he had been wrong to ask, but after a few moments, she responded. "I shouldn't be here," she said, "I hadn't put in any applications for the tournament, none of the Founders had even considered putting me in, but then Mario, he stopped by my studio one day, watched me work, and he . . . he said that I might have potential. And he entered me into the tournament."

Villager remained quiet. He knew how it was to feel like he didn't belong here. He'd been thinking that same thing ever since he arrived on the Smash Grounds. He looked at the Wii Fit Trainer, wondering if she wasn't so different from himself after all.

"Ever since I got here," she said, "I've looked at all of these experiences heroes who've been rescuing princesses, battling space pirates and mad scientists, leading divine armies, and competing in Pokemon tournaments, and I think, 'If I am going to have any chance of proving myself in this tournament, I have to do everything I can to be at the top of my game. That's why I can't stop working out, injured or not."

"And that's why you went into the stage last night," Villager said, "Because of the secret training device Bowser talked about."

The Wii Fit Trainer nodded. Villager remained silent as something clicked in his mind. Bowser. Bowser had been the one to tell them about the stage. Did he have something to do with the Yellow Devil?

Villager shook his head. He turned back to the Trainer. "Well, how about we work together from now on?" he said, "Since we're both out of our leagues in this tournament, we'll help each other. Make each other become stronger. What do you say?"

He held out his hand to her. She looked at him and smiled a little. "Alright, deal," she said, taking his hand.

The two sat in silence once again, waiting for everyone else to arrive. "It's Jazz, by the way," the Trainer said.

Villager looked her, a little confused. "Huh?"

"My name . . . it's Jazz," she said, "I figure if we're going to be friends and work together now, I might as well not make you refer to me constantly as Wii Fit Trainer."

"Then why would you go by—"

Jazz shrugged. "It sounds more professional. Come on, you don't expect me to believe _Villager_ is your real name, do you?"

Villager looked slightly sheepish. "It could be," he said.

Jazz's mouth hung open. "You mean you're name is actually—"

"There's nothing wrong with Villager," Villager said defensively.

"No, no, of course not. It's a good name. A strong, manly name. Um . . . oh, look, Pit's here."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Pit vs. Olimar

"Alright, guys," Pit said, "Let's get started."

Villager, Rock, and Jazz the Wii Fit Trainer sat together on a large piece of litter as Pit talked. Standing next to Pit was a small, diminutive man in a space suit with a balding head and pointed ears. He was surrounded by a number of small plantlike creatures who looked like they were waiting for him to give an order.

"First off, I'd like to introduce Captain Olimar to you," Pit said, referring to their guest, who bowed. "He will be joining us from now on as an assistant teacher. Olimar, these are our newcomers: Villager, Mega Man, and the Wii Fit Trainer."

"Pleased to meet you all," Olimar said in a soft, squirrely voice, "I look forward to competing in the tournament with you this year. As you may recall, I participated in last year's tournament alongside Pit here."

Villager nodded. Jazz shrugged. Rock shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't really paid much attention to the previous tournament," he apologized.

Olimar squinted at Rock. "You're Mega Man, right? Aren't you a guest fighter like those showboats Sonic and Snake from last year?"

"Umm, yeah," Rock said, "You know, except for the showboat part."

Villager and Jazz both snorted under their breath. Rock shot them both looks as if to say, _Don't you two start._

"Next, we have to deal with last night's little adventure," Pit continued, "Firstly, the Yellow Devil has been contained and we are currently looking into how it got onto the Smash Grounds in the first place."

"Um, sir," Villager said, raising his hand.

"Yes?"

"I think Bowser may have had something to do with it. He talked to us just after you left last night and told us that there was supposed to be a special training device in the Dr. Wily stage. I think he told us that to lead us into a trap."

Pit looked at Rock and Jazz. "Is this true?"

They both nodded.

"Yes, well, we already suspected that Bowser had something to do with it," Pit said, "But I will thank you for the information. In the meantime, you three did sneak into an off-limits area and there must be some consequences. Now, as this was not a major offense, and due to the fact that you saved the Smash Grounds from what could have spelled disaster for the tournament, the penalty is minimal. You three will spend the next three days in the 3DS area, helping to get one of the stages up and running. I hope there are no problems with this."

The three shook their heads. After the night they had had last night, they were in no mood to argue, and it was a fair punishment. Besides, Villager was itching to finally get to see some of the 3DS stages, so he had no complaints, and the others didn't seem to either.

Pit nodded. "Good. Just be aware, Mario, Link, and Kirby will be away for a while, leaving Samus in charge. She will not be nearly as lenient."

"Got it," Rock said.

"Now, seeing as the three of you are injured, Olimar and I thought we might do a demonstration battle for you, so that you have an idea what kind of battles you can expect when the tournament begins. If you would please take your seat on the stage bleachers."

Villager, Rock, and Jazz made their way up to the small block of bleachers attached to the outer wall of the stage. Every stage had one of these, just out of view of the cameras, where the audience would sit and occasionally cheer on the current leader in the battle. Villager sat down on a light blue seat in the front row, fighting down an urge to shout out "ROY'S OUR BOY!"

As soon as they were seated, Pit signaled to an unseen person in a control booth to start up the stage field. A brief hum met the newcomers' ears as an invisible spread itself over the entire area of the stage, creating a barrier that would signal a KO if passed through and ensure that no one could permanently die within the field.

"Alright, now, before we begin—," Pit started, but he was cut off as a heavy purple Pikmin whacked him in the back of the head and knocked him to the ground.

"Hey," he said, flopping over to look at Olimar, who had a big grin on his face, "I wasn't ready yet."

"You said that you wanted them to see what a real battle was like," Olimar shrugged. "In a real battle, no one's going to wait around for their opponent to give the audience exposition."

"Well, yeah, but this is for their training."

Olimar shrugged, picked up a yellow Pikmin, and tossed it at Pit. As soon as the little vegetable creature struck Pit, several volts of electricity coursed through his body. Olimar used the opportunity to put plenty of distance between himself and Pit.

"Alright, that's it. Game on!" Pit said. He pointed his bow at Olimar and pulled back the string. An arrow of solid light appeared in the bow just before he let it fly. The arrow arced through the air toward Olimar. Olimar dodged, the arrow instead skewering a blue Pikmin, causing it to evaporate into a blue ghostlike whisp.

"Hey, no killing my Pikmin!" Olimar shouted. He reached down to the ground and plucked out a bunch of new Pikmin, tossing one after another at Pit, each one clinging to him and administering their individual elemental attack. After taking a minute to shake them all off, he found himself being pummeled from behind by Olimar's headbutt.

"Come on, Olimar," Pit said, "quit fighting dirty!"

"What, the angel wants a good clean game?" Olimar mocked. "You do realize this is _Super Smash Bros_. we are talking about, right?"

He plucked out another Pikmin and tossed it. Pit growled at Olimar and put his hands out to the sides, creating a pair of shields that covered his front and back.

"Well, it's about time," Olimar said.

Pit narrowed his eyes, then rushed at Olimar, spinning his bow around in his hands to create a spinning vortex of blades that racked up damage to Olimar's score. Pit hit Olimar again and again with a flurry of blade strikes, weakening him more and more. Pit clenched his fist, causing a large red-and-blue disc to appear on his arm.

"Whoa, what is that?" Villager said from his place in the bleachers.

"I think I've heard about that," Jazz replied. "It's called the Upperdash Arm. Pit picked it up on his adventure earlier this year."

"It's cool, whatever it is," Rock said.

With a powerful punch to the gut, Pit launched Olimar into the air, sending him straight through the invisible barrier with a bright flash. As soon as he disappeared, all of his remaining Pikmin turned into whisps.

The three newcomers stared in silence. Rock let out a long low whistle. "Wow," he said.

After a few seconds, a small floating platform appeared in the middle of the stage with Olimar standing on it. He hopped down off of it, chuckling. "Well, I sure got you worked up, didn't I, Pit?"

Pit glared at him, a little red rising in his cheeks. He turned to the newcomers. "Alright, the battle's over. You three can come down now."

Villager, Rock, and Jazz made their way back onto the stage. "Whoa, that was amazing!" Villager said excitedly.

"Are the little vegetable things okay?" Jazz asked.

"What, the Pikmin?" Olimar asked, "Oh, sure, they're fine. They're protected from actually dying in the stage, just like us. See?" He reached down and pulled out a group of Pikmin. "These are the exact same Pikmin I used in the fight."

The little creatures waved at her.

"So, who wants to talk about what went wrong in that fight?" Pit asked.

"You lost your temper?" Olimar asked.

The newcomers chuckled as Pit fumed. "Okay," he said, "Now how about something Olimar did wrong?"

Samus looked up from her maintenance work on her suit as a bell rang from the front gate. _That's odd,_ she thought as she didn't remember noticing anyone approaching. She poked her head out of the security booth to see a familiar face looking at her from outside the locked gate. There was no mistaking those green clothes, overalls, and a face only slightly different from Mario's.

"Luigi?" she said.

"Yo, what's up, Samus," Luigi said with a smile, "Can I come in?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Luigi

"So, my brother's not here, huh?"

Luigi and Samus were both seated in the main office of the Smash Grounds. Samus was seated behind a small wooden desk piled high with fighter applications, construction blueprints, bills, and a few unsent acceptance letters. Luigi sat in a small chair on the other side, putting his feet up on the desk and sipping a glass of mushroom soda.

Samus shook her head. "You just missed him. He headed out earlier this morning with Link and Kirby to investigate what was going on out there."

"You mean the bombing at Mona's Pizza that I told him about in my letter?"

Samus nodded. "That and Toon Link's state when he arrived here."

"Ah, yes. How's he doing, by the way?"

"He should be okay. We don't know yet if he'll be able to compete this year, but he said he'd be content to run our new Spirit Train stage in the meantime."

"That's good," Luigi said, taking a long sip of his soda.

"Anyway," Samus said, shuffling the papers in front of her compulsively, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. What about the rest of your party? Douglas? Ness? Puff? Will they be arriving soon, or—?"

"They won't be coming," Luigi said flatly. "There was a bit of an incident and we . . . got separated."

Samus nodded. "I see. Well, they're all formidable fighters. I'm sure they'll be fine. Either way, you should get word out to Mario: let him know you're here, tell him to look out for the others, any information you can give him to help him in his investigation. Parakarry should be by in a few hours. He knows how to find Mario. Have a letter ready by then."

"Got it," Luigi said. "So, how are things going here?"

Samus took a minute to answer as she looked nervously out the window and fussed with the papers in her hand. "To be honest, I'm kind of glad you're here. I'm concerned about the safety of the grounds in Mario's absence. We had an incident last night involving a monster nearly destroying one of our stages, and I have a feeling Bowser was behind it. I think he's planning something big. Fox is keeping tabs on him, and we've got DK, Pikachu, Pit, and Olimar here, but I don't think we'll be enough if Bowser tries something."

"What about these three newcomers you've got here?"

Samus bit her lip skeptically.

"You don't think they're cut out for this?" Luigi guessed.

"I still don't think Olimar's cut out for this, so I certainly don't think they are."

Luigi shrugged. "People can surprise you. After all, you're looking at the king of underdogs right here, and I'm one of the tournament's best fighters."

Samus rolled her eyes and looked back out the window.

"Well, if you're that concerned, it may be the time to call in some more fighters," Luigi said. He picked up the stack of acceptance letters. "Let's see who you've got. Marth. Diddy Kong. Princess Peach. Ooh, there's mine. I'll take that. King Dedede. Looks like a lot of returning veterans. Oh, here's a newcomer . . . ooh, he's going to be fun. And here's another . . . oh, you picked—um, okay. If you say so. Anyway, you ought to start sending these out right away. Get as many as you can."

Samus thought for a moment. "Maybe you're right," she said. She took the pile from Luigi's hands and started looking through them. "Well, Luigi, you have free pick of any of the dorms. You might consider taking Mario's room while he's gone. I'm afraid Donkey Kong might end up trashing it on his own."

Luigi nodded. "That's probably a good idea." He crunched up his empty can and stood up. "Well, see you around, Samus." He turned and headed for the door. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back, his eye briefly becoming metallic and glowing. He grinned and left the office. Samus continued shuffling through the papers, not having noticed anything amiss.

"Welcome, guys, to the 3DS Grounds."

Pit led Villager, Rock, Jazz, and Olimar through a set of small gates connected the Wii U and 3DS areas. The three newcomers looked around in amazement at this section of the Smash Grounds that they hadn't seen yet. They crossed over a set of train tracks that looked like they ran all the way around the section. Before them stood a stage with a replica of Princess Peach's castle in the background and a large water hazard filled with those giant cylindrical spikes that always made Villager nervous.

Off to their right, a serene grassy hill with a small underground section rose above the ground. Villager stared at that section for a minute or two, trying to figure out what it was supposed to be, but nothing came to mind. On the left, they could see a desert stage made up of a canyon with a rickety bridge, a small tent, and a couple of platforms that Villager recognized as the Gerudo Valley from Link's adventure that earned him the title of "the Hero of Time." In the distance, Villager could see an ancient arena that looked like a stage based on Fire Emblem. Next to it sat a small playhouse-like stage emitting a playful dog bark.

"Wow," Rock said.

"Well, the stage you three are to work on is just beyond Gerudo Valley there. Ask for Toon Link."

"Toon Link?" Villager asked, "He's here?"

"Well, not as a fighter at the moment," Pit replied, "Due to some injuries sustained recently, he is currently only running one of the stages. If you need me, I'll be that way." He pointed towards the far back end of the grounds. "A new Kid Icarus stage was just finished, and I have to go and look it over. See you."

He flapped his wings and took off, leaving the newcomers with Olimar. "So, why are you here, Olimar?" Rock asked.

Olimar shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do. You guys better get going. I'll see you around. I'll probably be checking out the stages or something."

He blew his whistle and all of his Pikmin who had been wandering around the area immediately gathered around him. He waved for them to follow and he marched off, leading the little flower creatures like they were his own personal infantry.

"Well, let's go," Jazz said. Villager and Rock grinned and followed. They made their way past the Mario stage and the Gerudo Valley stage to find a small train station with a small two-car train stopped at it. A short figure with blond hair was ducked down in the train's engine, working on something. Villager stepped into the station and up to the train.

"Um, Toon Link?"

The figure poked his head up. He looked like a small childish version of Link with a large head and eyes. Although Villager was normally familiar with him wearing a green cap and tunic like Link's, he was currently dressed in a dark blue train engineer's uniform. He also had a cast on his left arm and right legs and a bandage around his head, slightly concealed by his hair.

"Ah, hello," Toon Link said with a smile, picking up a pair of crutches and hobbling out of the engine compartment. "You three must be this year's newcomers. I'm Toon Link. Welcome aboard the Spirit Train."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Smash History

"Alright, Wii Fit Trainer," Toon Link said from his position under the engineer's control panel, "Hand me that tool over there."

"Sure thing," Jazz said, picking up a small wrench and handing it to him. She looked to the station where Villager and Rock were struggling to carry a crate full of coal onto the train. She watched as Rock's metallic hands slipped slightly, dropping the crate onto Villager's tow.

"Ow," he shouted, "Watch it!"

"Sorry," Rock mumbled.

Jazz stifled a laugh as she looked back at Toon Link.

"Alright," Toon Link said, as he rolled out from under the console, "That should do it. How are the boys doing?"

Jazz nodded toward where Rock and Villager were now making the perilous journey of ten inches from the platform to the train. They both managed to get to the other side and set down the heavy crate with a THUD! Rock straightened out his back joints as Villager wiped his forehead and let out a gasp of relief.

"Great job, boys," Toon Link said, "But, um, that's the wrong fuel. We only use the coal if we run out."

Villager and Rock both raised their eyebrows. "Huh?" they asked in unison.

"Here at the Smash Grounds, we use a more fuel efficient alternative," Toon Link explained. He pointed to a stack of much smaller crates next to the coal boxes. "Two of those should be fine."

Villager and Rock stared in exasperation at the small pile. Jazz rolled her eyes. "I'll get them," she said.

She hopped off the train, grabbed a pair of boxes, which were quite light to boot, and walked briskly back to the train.

"Here you go."

"Thank you," Toon Link said, taking the box and opening it up. The newcomers peered in to see about twelve red mushrooms placed neatly inside.

"Are those super mushrooms?" Villager asked, "As in _Super Mario Bros._ super mushrooms?"

Toon Link nodded. "One of the benefits of all these multidimensional relations and such is that we trade ideas and goods, so that we can find better and more efficient ways of doing things. That's what this whole tournament is about, after all."

The three looked at him in confusion. "What?" Villager asked.

"Hmm," Toon Link mused, noting their confusion. "Let's get the train started, then we'll talk."

He picked up the box and carried it to the console. He pulled out a mushroom and shoved it inside the fuel tank. With the same sound made when Mario would plug one into his kart, the train started to hum with energy. Toon Link flipped a few switches and started the train up. "Attention, passengers," he said with a grin, "Please keep your arms and legs inside the train at all times."

He pulled a large level and the train started to chug forward. "And we're off!" Toon Link said. He stood at the console, making sure the train kept running as they went on a journey around the 3DS grounds. On one side, the newcomers could see a breathtaking mountainous view that echoed the vistas of New Hyrule. On the other side, they got a view of all the other stages currently under construction in the 3DS Grounds.

"Ah," Toon Link breathed, gazing at the New Hyrule view, "New Hyrule. My wife Tetra and I founded that place, you know. Or at least, we will. At least, by my timeline, we haven't yet. Am I making any sense?"

"No," Villager, Rock, and Jazz said in unison.

"Okay, you get how there is more than one Link, right?" he asked.

"Sort of," Villager said.

"Not really," Rock added.

"Well, there are," Toon Link explained. "So far, we've discovered at least ten . . . wait, I forgot. We just learned of an eleventh. Anyway, due to a curse of sorts placed on the original founders of Hyrule, history in our nation is destined to repeat itself. So far, there's the original four: Link the founder of Hyrule, Link of the Minish Cap, Link of the Four Sword, and Link the Hero of Time. That last one is the Link you know. The Link who competes in the tournament every year. Sometimes, he wears garb to represent other Links but it is always him. Due to some complications to the time stream caused during that Link's adventures, the history of Hyrule was split into three different timelines, each with at least two Links in each.

"In one time stream, the line that occurred because of Link's death, we got Link of the Oracles and Link of the End. We just recently learned of another Link who existed a generation following Link of the Oracles. In another line, we got Link of the Twilight Realm and Link of the Four Sword's Return. And in the final line, the line that remembers him as the Hero of Time, we got Link the Hero of Winds, which is me, as well as my distant descendant, Link of the Spirit Train. That's the one that this stage comes from. The original intention was for this train to be run by him, but since I'm here and injured, I've agreed to run it, at least until I've recovered."

"So, how exactly do you know all of this?" Jazz asked.

"Well, do you guys know the history of the Super Smash Bros. Tournament?"

"Sure," Villager replied, "The eight founders put it all together four years ago and they've been doing it every year since."

"Okay, that's the basic version of it. The real story is a bit more complicated. First I'll go back to ancient times. Now, most of this information we learned from ROB 01, the Ancient Minister, last year. You see, we live in a vast multiverse full of different dimensions and timelines and all sorts of stuff. Thousands and thousands of years ago, far before any of our histories, a demon named Tabuu attempted to destroy all of it. The only ones who stood in his way were the ROBs.

"The ROBs fought against Tabuu in a terrible and destructive war that went on for centuries. Eventually, the ROBs were able to seal him away in the space between dimensions called Subspace. In order to keep him there for all eternity, they created two beings as his guardians: the Lord of Order, Master Hand, and the Lord of Chaos, Crazy Hand. Another being was created when Tabuu was sealed, a being called Mr. Game & Watch. From him came all life throughout the multiverse, including us.

"Eons passed, and the ancient times were eventually forgotten, even by those who played a crucial role in it. After so many millennia, Master Hand forgot his purpose and grew bored. He used his powers to create rifts in the multiverse, pulling eight of the most powerful warriors from their own worlds and pitting them against each other for his own amusement. This was the first Super Smash Bros. tournament. Eventually, the eight warriors grew wise to what was going on and fought and defeated Master Hand.

"After the tournament was over, the eight heroes were returned to their own worlds, but they became curious about what was out there in the multiverse. They discovered that the rifts Master Hand had made had failed to close. Realizing the potential that these rifts had opened up for them, the founders decided to set up a second tournament, this time for the purpose of trade and relations with other worlds as well as to gather warriors from all over the multiverse to create a powerful army that could stand up to any serious threat.

"Unfortunately, others had other plans. Three individuals, specifically Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo attempted to use the rifts for their own gain. Harnessing the energy created by the rift, they managed to transform Bowser into a monstrous abomination called Giga Bowser. The gathered heroes managed to defeat them, but the damage had been done. Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo's meddling had awakened and infuriated Crazy Hand. In order to stop Crazy Hand from plunging the universe into chaos, Mewtwo realized his mistake and used a powerful technique that destroyed both himself and Crazy Hand.

"What we didn't realize was that destroying Crazy Hand had broken the seal that had kept Tabuu contained. He exacted his vengeance on the ROBs and Master Hand by forcing them to do his will and used Master Hand to enlist the aid of evil beings such as Bowser, Ganondorf, Ridley, and Porky Minch, leading us all into a trap. Thanks to a certain 'villain,' we all managed to escape and together we destroyed Tabuu once and for all. Well, I should say 'they' destroyed Tabuu. Jigglypuff, Wolf, and I were a little late on the draw. Anyway, that was when we knew that this tournament was necessary. If another being like Tabuu and Crazy Hand were to ever threaten the multiverse, we had to be prepared. We had to have fighters willing and capable to put their lives on the line in the defense of all. Plus, by putting on the façade of a tournament, we could attract a lot less attention from certain enemy factions."

The three sat in silence for a minute, taking it all in.

"So, then," Villager asked, "Why did Mario pick me?"

"And me?" Jazz added.

Toon Link rubbed his chin. "I've come to realize that Mario very rarely makes mistakes when choosing his fighters. Well, okay, maybe Pichu. But Mario picks his fighters because he sees potential in them, even in the most unlikely places. After all, let's remember that Mario himself started out as a mere plumber, and look at him now. Perhaps there's more to the two of you than you think."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Mona

The sun shone down on the tall, silvery buildings of Diamond City as Mario, Link, and Kirby stepped out of a taxicab and onto the bustling streets of the city.

"Thanks," Mario told the bulldog-like taxi driver, handing him a pile of coins and rupees.

After the cab drove away, the trio looked up at the sparkling city around them. Towering above them in all directions were skyscrapers taller than any Mario had ever seen. The most prominent of which was a massive building across the street from them with a large purple "W" on the top of it.

"Wario Ware, Inc.," Mario muttered.

"Quite the building," Link whistled, "Fitting for a man of Wario's tastes."

"I'm still not sure about being here in Wario's territory," Kirby said, "Aren't you two sworn enemies?"

Mario shrugged. "Not so much anymore. You might even consider us friends now."

"You do remember he betrayed us to the subspace army last year, right?" Kirby pointed out.

"I haven't forgotten."

"An explosion across the street from his building, the mark of subspace found at the scene," Link listed, "Very suspicious."

"I don't think it was him," Mario said, "But that's why we're here. To find out."

The three turned from the skyscraper to the small pizza place behind them. The words "Mona Pizza" were spelled out in bright red neon letters across the top of the building. Mario pushed open the door, and they walked inside. A chime sounded somewhere in the back as they passed the threshold. They looked around, expecting a disaster area, but were surprised to see that the restaurant was in perfect order.

A flash of red hair appeared as a beautiful young woman carrying a large pepperoni pizza rounded the corner. "I'll be right with you," she said quickly, not looking up at them as she placed the pizza on one of the customers' tables. She asked them if they needed anything else before turning to her new guests.

"How can I—Hey, Mario!" she said, her face lighting up, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey, Mona," Mario said, "We came to look into—"

"The bombing?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't tell you much, but how about I get you guys some pizza, and we'll talk?" she said.

"Sounds good," Mario said with a smile.

Mona started to head back to the kitchen when Link spoke up. "Hey, why's the restaurant in such good shape?"

"Oh," Mona said, her cheeks going as red as her hair, "Wario, he, um, he paid for it all to be fixed up quickly when he heard what happened."

Kirby raised an eyebrow. "Wario _paid_ to fix up this place? What did he make you do in return?"

Mona bounced on her heels and she looked like she was stifling a smile. "Nothing," she replied, "he said I should consider it a bonus for all of my hard work. I'll just get that pizza, okay?"

With that, she turned and hurried out of the room.

"Wow," Link said, "So, that's Mona, huh? And she's the one Wario has the thing for, right?"

Mario nodded, taking a seat at an empty table. A little boy wearing a plastic helmet pointed him out excitedly to his mother a few tables over. Link and Kirby sat down next to Mario.

"Wario doing something charitable?" Kirby said, shaking his head. "He must have it bad for this girl."

"Not that he'd ever admit to it," Mario smirked, "Luigi, Waluigi, and I have made a bit of a habit out of teasing him about her."

Link scratched at his chin. "You know, I really find it hard to imagine a girl like her with a guy like, well, Wario."

"Yeah, she seems to be a little out of his league, I think," Kirby agreed.

Mario laughed. He noticed Mona heading back out with a pizza. "Alright, guys, that's enough," he said.

"Here you go," Mona said, setting down the pizza in front of them, "The Mona special. Named after yours truly." She sat down in the remaining seat at the table. "Now, where do we start?"

"Well, first off," Mario said, "What about Luigi and the others? Where are they now?"

Mona thought for a minute. "Well, Puff is still laid up in the local Pokemon Center. Luigi, Captain Falcon, and Ness headed out a couple of days ago. They said they'd be back to check in on her from time to time."

"Do you know where they went?" Link asked.

"They said they had an interview in the Mushroom Kingdom, so you can probably find them there."

"Alright," Mario said, "We'll go there if we don't learn anything here. Now, what do you know about the bombing?"

"Like I said, I don't know much. About a week ago, your friends came here to conduct an interview. They met up with Toon Link and that balloon fighter, Ace. I was working the morning shift, bussing tables. I took their order and went into the back to get their pizza when the blast hit. I was knocked unconscious by the shockwave, but managed to get out completely unharmed. When I came to, the front of the shop had been wrecked. Puff was in bad shape, and we couldn't find Ace anywhere."

"What about the Subspace Army symbol Luigi talked about?" Kirby asked.

"I don't know who left it. We found it spray-painted on the floor of the shop, right about where we're sitting."

Kirby and Link both looked down at the floor and cringed.

"Do you know where the bomb was planted?" Mario asked.

Mona shook her head. "We can't find evidence of a bomb anywhere. It was almost like the blast came out of nowhere."

Link started to ask a question when a loud noise boomed from the street nearby.

"You all heard that too, right?" Kirby asked, as the four turned their heads toward the window. They could see Diamond City residents running in panic as more booms sounded, growing closer every time.

"What is that?" Link asked.

Before anyone could answer, a massive metallic arm with a gummy purple hand smashed through the front window and demolished the entire front of the restaurant. Patrons screamed and ran for cover as rubble fell around them. Mario, Link, Kirby, and Mona looked up at their attacker as the dust cleared. Mario's eyes widened. Looming above them was a massive cyborg monstrosity with large metal parts covering gummy purple flesh. The beast was slightly reminiscent of a rhino and at least twice as big as the last time Mario had seen it.

"Galleom," Mario said.

"Um, I may be wrong, but," Kirby said, "Didn't we destroy that thing?"

Bowser chuckled to himself as he stepped into the newly completed stage, the Pyrosphere. The stage was large and flat with steel platforms floating above it. Huge metal walls rose up all around him, and on one end of the room, a cascade of glowing plasma gushed from a pipe and down into the unseen bottom of the stage.

"This should do nicely as a replacement for my Dr. Wily's Castle base of operations," he said with a grin. He brought out a small handheld device and pressed a few keys on it, causing holographic images of seven people to appear in front of him.

"Gentlemen," he said, nodding at each of his seven fellow villains, "I am happy to report everything is going according to plan."

"We're getting tired of waiting, Bowser," a bearded warlock on the far end said coldly.

"Yes, when are we going to overrun the Smash tournament?" a purple dragon just left of center hissed. "You promised you would be ready by now."

"Perhaps, this job is too much for you," said a man with long blond hair and an eyepiece on the far left, "Perhaps one of us should be sent in to assist you."

"I assure you, Ghetsis," Bowser said, "I do not require any assistance. Everything is going according to plan, and we will be ready to invade in no more than three days. All of you will wait for my signal, and then the Smash grounds will be ours."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Bowser turned to find himself staring down the gun barrel of Fox McCloud's blaster.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Fox vs. Bowser

"Fox McCloud, how nice of you to drop by," Bowser said cordially. He looked back at his seven cohorts. "I'll have to call you back," he said, shutting down the device and causing the seven holograms to vanish.

"You're too late, Bowser," Fox said seriously, "I've already recognized every single one of your accomplices. Ganondorf, King K. Rool, Ridley, Ghetsis, Nightmare, Andross, and Medusa. Not a single one of them will be able to come anywhere near the Smash Grounds once I report back to Samus."

Bowser chuckled. "Oh, my dear Fox," he said, "Do you really believe that they were the only ones involved in this. Please, we are only the leaders. We have many, many more on our payroll who want to bring you down."

"Who? How many?" Fox growled, steadying his gun and keeping it aimed at Bowser's head.

"Hundreds," Bowser smiled, "Every villain you can think of, even some heroes. It might be easier to list those who aren't working with us. King Dedede for one. We aren't dumb enough to trust him with our plans anymore. We don't have Wario either. He's gotten a little too noble on us lately. He wouldn't even take our bribe. But no matter. We have plenty on our side even without their help. You and your little band of heroes don't stand a chance against us."

"Don't forget that most of us here have taken down armies singlehandedly before," Fox said, "Myself included."

"Well, at the moment, I only have to worry about six fighters and your three little rookies. I think we can handle them."

"I think you've miscounted," Fox said.

"Oh, no, Fox," Bowser said, "You see, you won't live long enough to see the invasion."

Bowser lunged, snagging the gun in Fox's hands between his teeth and wrenching it from his grasp. With a toss of his head, he sent the gun skittering across the metal floor and over the edge. Fox retaliated with a good swift kick to Bowser's head. As Bowser recovered from the blow, Fox retreated back a few feet.

Bowser glared at him, fire starting to seep from his mouth. He tipped his head back then released a blast of flame in Fox's direction that he easily sidestepped. As Bowser charged up another blast, Fox sprinted toward Bowser so fast only brief flashes of him could be seen. He clotheslined Bowser on the way past, knocking him to the ground. He turned around once he stopped to grin at Bowser struggling to get up.

"Gee, I thought you'd be a tougher fight," Fox said, "Considering how many times Mario's had to fight you. But I guess you were just practice for real villains, weren't you?"

Bowser snarled at him. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said, "Get him!"

Something heavy landed on Fox's back, smashing him to the ground. He looked up to see a large brown Koopa sitting on his back. "Have you met my henchman Boom Boom?" Bowser asked genially. "I asked him to accompany me to the Smash Grounds just in case I needed a bodyguard."

"Pathetic villain move," Fox spat, "Using your goons to fight your battles instead of taking care of it yourself."

"Please, as if Pokemon Trainers don't do the same thing," Bowser said, "But I have every intention of finishing you off myself. Kamek!"

A small koopa with glasses and a blue robe and hat flew up to Bowser on a magical broom. "Yes, my lord?" he said.

"The Smash Ball."

Kamek dug in his robes and produced a glowing Smash tournament symbol as well as a blue light shard.

Fox looked up at the shard. "Is that a—"

"Piece of Tabuu's wings," Bowser grinned maliciously, "Of course. I managed to snag this just after we finished him off last year. Kamek and I discovered a very interesting outcome if you put it together with a Smash Ball. Show him, Kamek."

"Yes, my lord," Kamek replied. He waved his wand around the two objects and muttered some magic words. The two pieces started to merge together and shine with an intense bright light. When the light cleared, Kamek held in his hand what could only be described as a Dark Smash Ball. It was still the shape of the Smash Ball, but the ball itself had become obsidian black and now glowed with that same blue color as Tabuu.

Bowser grinned at the horrified look on Fox's face as he clamped his hand down on the Smash Ball and shattered it, causing the blue light to spread all over his body. He focused, and his body started to transform. He grew and grew, becoming much larger than ordinary Giga Bowser had been. His skin became almost black and his features warped, at first looking like Giga Bowser and then going far beyond that. Blue light emanated from his eyes, mouth, and numerous other spots all over his body. A pair of massive light wings just like Tabuu's spread themselves out behind Bowser.

"Holy—," Fox muttered in disbelief.

"Do you think you and your heroes stand a chance against us now?" Bowser said in a voice that was not his own. "Do you think you even match up to an army of soldiers with this kind of power?"

Fox groaned, trying to move.

"Kamek, Boom Boom, move out of the way so that I can finish this piece of filth," Bowser ordered.

The two complied, moving as far behind Bowser as they could get. Fox took a breath of free air and stood shakily, thanks to Boom Boom finally getting off of him. He looked up at the abomination before him and stood his ground. "The Smash Fighters will not fall to you, Bowser," he said determinedly.

Bowser chuckled an unholy laugh. He crossed his wings in front of him, then threw them out again, unleashing a wave of energy that struck Fox with full force. Fox let out a cry of anguish as pain ripped across his body. This was nothing like what Tabuu's wings had done to him. This had to be at least twenty times worse. Fox could feel his body giving out as the energy became too much for it. He choked out an attempt to speak and breathed his last. The wave threw his lifeless body against the wall of the Pyrosphere, leaving a crater two inches deep. After the wave subsided, he slid out of the crater and tumbled to the dark bottom of the stage.

The power surging through Bowser's body dissipated, returning him to his normal size and form. He laughed wickedly. "Thank you for your help, Kamek, Boom Boom," he said.

"Of course, my lord," Kamek trembled, holding out his hand and making the Smash Ball and wing shard reappear in his palm.

"Now, if you two will excuse me, I have a meeting to get back to." Bowser pressed a key on his pad, making the images of the other seven villains reappear. "Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen. Now, where were we?"

Samus let the communications device she'd been holding slip through her fingers when Fox's line went dead. She, Luigi, and Donkey Kong sat in stunned silence as they took in everything that they had heard. Fox had put a message through to them before he had even approached Bowser and left it on so that they could hear their entire confrontation.

"Is he—?" Luigi asked slowly.

"Don't even say it," Samus warned him. She looked out the window to where the Pyrosphere sat. "Get down there, both of you," she said, "If nothing else, get Fox or his . . . just get him out of there. I'll find Pit and Olimar. We'll hold an emergency meeting tomorrow morning on Skyloft. Everyone, including the newcomers and the crew, is to come. Everyone but Bowser. We need a plan."

"We got it, Samus," Luigi said with a nod. Donkey Kong shook his head up and down in agreement.

The two hurried out of the room and made their way to the Pyrosphere. Samus remained behind, staring at the communications device. Images of her parents, the Chozo, Adam Malkovitch, a baby Metroid, and many other friends she had lost over the years haunted her brain, and she wondered if Fox would be the next to join them.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Wario Ware Inc. to the Rescue

The monstrous cyborg Galleom glared down at Mario, Link, and Kirby, a small amount of recognition in his eyes. It curled its fist and smashed it down towards them.

"Move!" Mario shouted.

He, Link, Kirby, and Mona dived out of the way of the monster's fist as it cracked a deep crater in the floor of the restaurant and demolished the table they'd been sitting at.

"Man," Mona said, "Does this restaurant have a target painted on it or something?"

Mario looked at the scene of destruction surrounding him. "Mona, get your patrons to safety!" he shouted, "We'll lead Galleom away. Hurry!"

Mona nodded and ran off toward the boy in the plastic helmet and his mother. Galleom raised his fist to smash the three again. "Come on, guys," Mario said, looking at his companions, "Let's go!"

The three dived out of the way of Galleom's fist and jumped over the remains of the front wall. Galleom turned to follow them as they ran out to the street. A pair of missile launchers opened on its back, and it began firing a barrage after them.

"Was he able to do that last time?" Kirby shouted.

"I think so," Link replied, "I don't really remember. We only fought him in the Great Maze. It was Lucas, Ike, Marth, Red, and Meta Knight who would be able to tell you."

"Guys, less chatting, more running," Mario said, "We've got to get it away from the city."

The missiles struck down all around them, luckily missing them, but destroying huge chunks of the street and buildings.

"_Roboticus Destructicus!_"

A ball of magical energy struck Galleom right in the nose, knocking it backwards. Galleom shook off the attack and looked around for its assailant. Its eyes zeroed in on a young teenage girl with jet black hair in pigtails and a small red devil sitting on her shoulder. The girl glared at the beast with a look of pure hatred. Galleom roared and plunged its fist at her, only to be slashed across the front by a pair of tremendously fast tiny objects. The two objects converged in the sky above the monster. Galleom looked up to see a pair of five-year-old girls wielding full-sized katana blades and grinning at him.

"Mario, Link, Kirby, are you guys okay?"

The three looked to see the young boy in the plastic helmet running toward them, followed by Mona.

"Yeah, we're fine," Mario said, "Mona, aren't these your—"

"Coworkers? Yeah," Mona replied.

"Tell them to stand down," Mario said, "It's too dangerous. We'll handle this."

"We're not helpless," Mona said, pointing up to where Galleom was batting at the two little girls, the witch, and now a flying saucer piloted by an ivory-skinned alien wearing shades. "We can help you."

"Hey, Mona!"

A pair of newcomers approached: A tall, middle-aged man with a blue afro, and a teenage boy wearing a kung fu shirt.

"What's been going on, maaaan?" the afro guy asked, "Why's this big rhino thing wrecking the joint?"

"Guys, we need your help," Mona said.

"No," Mario said, "All of you need to get out of here. We can handle this."

"No way, Mario," the little boy said, "We're not sitting a fight like this out."

"We all can handle ourselves, Mario," Mona said. "Remember, we deal with Wario on a daily basis."

Mario sighed. "Alright, but we need a plan."

He looked up to see that Galleom had managed to knock all of his attackers away and was turning its attention back to Mario, Link, and Kirby.

"First plan of action, Move!" Mario shouted.

The three and their new allies jumped out of the way of Galleom's fist.

"Yeah! We're fighting alongside Mario!" the little boy said excitedly.

"First, we need to get Galleom away from the city," Mario said.

"Alright," the kung fu boy said, "I'll stay back here and help out Ashley and the others." He nodded towards the slowly recovering group of assailants from before.

"I'll help," Link told him.

"And I'll be a distraction, maaaan!" the afro man said.

"The rest of us should get a good lead on Galleom to lead him out of the city," Mario continued. "Hurry!"

Link and the kung fu guy ran off to attack Galleom, while afro dude started dancing to disco in the middle of the street. Mario, Kirby, Mona, and the kid started running in the opposite direction. Mario looked back to see Galleom surrounded by the Wario Ware, Inc. employees and Link but steadily making his way forward.

"We need to go faster!" Kirby said, seeing that the distractions weren't helping much.

"I wish I had grabbed my moped," Mona said.

As if on cue, a pair of taxis screeched to a halt beside them. A cat and a bulldog poked their head out of the driver's windows. "Need a lift?" the bulldog asked.

"Dribble! Spitz! You guys are life savers," Mona said.

"Hurry up and get in," the cat said.

The four didn't need to be told twice. Kirby and Mona clambered into the cat's cab, while Mario and the kid took the bulldog. As soon as the doors were closed, the two cab drivers took off at most likely illegal speeds, zooming through the streets of Diamond City like they owned the place.

Mario looked back to see Galleom galloping after them and keeping fairly good pace, the other Wario Ware employees struggling to keep up. The little boy bounced around excitedly on the seat next to Mario.

"Man, this is so cool!" the kid said.

"Hey, 9-Volt, can I get you to cool your jets back there," the bulldog said as he swerved wildly around another car, "Sit down and buckle up."

"Sure thing, Dribble," the kid said, quickly settling himself down into the seat and trying his best to contain his excitement. He failed. "Oh my gosh, I'm sitting next to MARIO!" the kid gushed, "This is the greatest day of my life!"

Mario smiled. "Don't get too excited, kid," he said, "Remember, we are running for our lives."

"Um, Mario," Dribble said, "I think we have a new problem."

Mario looked back to see that Galleom had shifted into its tank form and was now plowing through the cars behind them. "Great," he muttered, "Can you outrun it?"

"I'll try," Dribble replied. He put his foot on the gas and floored it. The cab sped forward at neckbreaking speeds, Spitz's cab right beside them. Mario looked back to see that the tank was still gaining on them. He could tell that they weren't going to make it. He watched as it got closer and closer.

"Look out!"

The horn of the tank met their bumper and everything seemed to go in slow motion. The cab tipped sideways as the tank forced its way past. The cab temporarily left the ground as it flipped over. Mario watched as Dribble and 9-Volt braced themselves against the impact. Mario caught a brief glimpse of a steel pole rapidly approaching the cab, and then everything went black.

"Good thing we didn't fill this thing with lava yet," Luigi whispered to Donkey Kong as they crept through the dark depths of the Pyrosphere stage. High above them, the main stage platform floated in the air. Bowser and his minions had already vacated the premises.

Donkey Kong grunted and pointed to a small heap in front of them. The two hurried forward to find the broken form of Fox sprawled on the ground. His arms and legs were bent in awkward and painful positions, blood matted his fur, and his eyes were half open. Luigi bent down to examine him.

Donkey Kong grunted a question.

"Yeah, he is," Luigi replied, "But it hasn't been too long. He can still be useful."

Donkey Kong tipped his head at Luigi curiously. Luigi closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Donkey Kong," he said, standing up and turning around, "We may be friends, but I can't let this opportunity slip by."

Metallic liquid oozed down Luigi's hand, hardening into a sharp steel blade. He opened his eyes, revealing them as glowing and metallic, and stabbed Donkey Kong straight through the stomach. The monkey howled in pain and horror. He looked at Luigi with a look of betrayal in his eyes. Luigi stared back at him with a cold unfeeling gaze. The big ape slowly collapsed to the floor, sliding off the blade.

"So sorry," Luigi said, kneeling beside him. He plunged his hand into the ape's wound, allowing small bits of liquid metal to seep into his system. "I find it much easier to take control of my victims if they are recently dead or nearly so. I hope you'll understand."

Luigi eased his hand out of the wound, watching as the metallic ooze closed it behind him. He returned to Fox's body, located an open wound, and repeated the process. He stepped back as the bodies were healed by their invader. Soon, both appeared to be in perfect health.

"Now, rise, my friends."

Fox and Donkey Kong's eyes flashed open, their eyes having turned glowing and metallic just like Luigi's.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Galleom's Showdown

"Alright, guys, just this last job, and then we're done for the day."

Toon Link led Villager, Rock, and Jazz off of the small boat and onto a small landing strip out in the middle of a large artificial ocean. They were about as far out on the Smash Grounds as you could get. A part of Villager wasn't even sure they were still in the Smash Grounds.

"So, what kind of stage is this?" Rock asked.

Toon Link looked around, the cold night air ruffling his blonde hair. "I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be from Pilotwings Resort or something. Over there's a replication of Wuhu Island."

He pointed out to a small island with a few buildings on it in the distance.

"They made Wuhu Island?" Jazz asked, looking out to the island excitedly.

"Oh yeah," Toon Link said, "do you know the place?"

Jazz nodded. "That's my home."

Villager looked up at Jazz. Her eyes were locked on Wuhu Island, and a slight smile crossed her face. He imagined that's probably how his own face had looked when he saw the Animal Crossing stage for the first time.

"So, what are we doing here, anyway?" Rock asked.

Toon Link grinned. "We are here to meet our new arrival," he said.

"Someone new is coming?" Villager asked. "Who is it?"

"See for yourself." Toon Link pointed up to the sky. A small light appeared against the black sky. It slowly got bigger and bigger, speeding toward the landing strip.

"Okay, back it up," Toon Link said, making sure that the group was well out of the way of the incoming plane. With a loud screech, a small pink plane with a crown painted on the side landed on the runway and came to a stop a short distance away. A small door opened vertically on the side and a ladder descended. A small boy wearing a blue vest and white poofy pants with a large red-spotted mushroom where his hair should be stepped onto the first step.

"Toad?" Villager asked.

Toad grinned down at his greeting party. "That's right, ladies and gentlemen!" he said with an excessive amount of bravado, "After four long years of waiting to get the recognition he deserves, Toad finally joins the SUPER! SMASH! BROTHERS!"

"Now, Toad," a high-pitched feminine voice from behind him said, "You know full well you haven't gotten an acceptance letter yet."

Toad's shoulders drooped. "Only because it got lost in the mail," he muttered dejectedly, moving down the staircase. He turned around when he reached the last step. "Please welcome the real Smash Fighter, even though she is constantly getting kidnapped while I am fighting right alongside Mario and Luigi most of the time to rescue her, her Royal Highness, Princess Peach!"

"Are you okay, Mario?" Link asked, as he pulled Mario from the wreckage of the cab.

Mario blinked several times to clear his head. He looked around at the disaster area that was downtown Diamond City. Several yards away, Galleom's tank came to a stop and reformed into a hulking beast. The cab Mario had just been pulled from was wrapped around a pole, while Mona, Kirby, and Spitz were all climbing out of the second cab laying upside down nearby.

"Where's Dribble and 9-Volt?" Mario asked.

"I'm good," the bulldog grumbled, holding an icepack to his forehead.

"9-Volt's pretty banged up though," the kung fu guy said, coming forward with the little guy in his arms. His helmet was cracked in two and there were dark stains under his red shirt. Mario closed his eyes and breathed heavily. He looked up at Link and Kirby.

"I think we're going to have to finish this here, guys," he said.

Link and Kirby nodded.

"Cricket, get 9-Volt to the hospital," Mona said, "We'll stay and help."

The kung fu guy nodded. The alien swooped down in his saucer. "I can take you," he said.

"Thanks, Orbulon," the kung fu guy said, climbing into the cockpit while keeping a good grip on the kid. After they were in, the saucer took off and flew away. Mario watched them go before turning to face Galleom. The beast spotted them amidst the wreckage and roared.

"Okay," Mario said, looking around at who he had left on his side. Dribble was sporting a nasty bump, but Spitz was just fine. The witch girl and the two five-year-old ninjas looked as pumped as ever to get into the battle, while the afro guy didn't seem to have any idea what was going on. Link, Kirby, and Mona stood diligently around Mario.

"Um, you three," Mario started, pointing at the three young girls.

"Ashley, Kat, and Ana," Mona whispered.

"Right. You three keep up what you were doing before. Keep flying around it and distracting it."

"Got it," the three said in unison, jumping into the air and buzzing around the beast, slashing and throwing spells at it.

"Link and Kirby, the three of us are going to attack it directly. Mona, you take Dribble, Spitz, and the guy with the afro—"

"Hey, it's Jimmy T., man," the afro guy cut in.

"Okay, Jimmy T., then," Mario said, "Take them and clear the civilians out of here."

"Jimmy T., you do that," Mona said. She pulled out a small baton and looked at Mario. "I'm helping you."

Mario wanted to argue but there was no time. "Fine," he said, "Let's just do this."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small orange-and-yellow flower. Taking a bite out of it, he felt an intense yet strangely painless heat flowing through his body. A warm glow spread over his clothes, changing the shirt white and the overalls red. A burning itch formed in his palms. Next to him, Link had his shield in front of him and his sword out, Mona twirled her baton in one hand while the other held a steaming pizza box, and Kirby hefted the hammer he had copied from King Dedede's. Galleom glared at them.

"Lets-a go!" Mario shouted, as the four rushed the beast. Mona got the first hit, smacking Galleom right in the face with the pizza, which had to have used Superspicy Curry as the sauce or something. As the monster reeled back in pain, Link nocked three arrows into his bow and sank them deep into the gummy flesh of Galleom's neck. Ashley, the witch girl, added to it by hitting Galleom in the face with a spell strong enough to knock him flat on his back.

"Kirby, get me up high!" Mario shouted. Kirby obliged by grabbing onto Mario's overalls and puffing himself up into the air. Below them, Galleom struggled to get up as Mario began his barrage of fireballs. Link and Mona ran around to the beast's sides and started smiting it with their sword and baton. Struggling under the fire, Galleom shifted back into tank form, shielding himself from the attack. The missile launchers on its back opened up, and four missiles shot from it.

"Kirby, look out!" Mario said, as one shot straight for them and hit Kirby right in the back. The two fell and landed hard on the back of the tank.

"Well, that hurt," Kirby moaned.

"Hang on to something, Kirby!" Mario said, as the tank started to shift back into Galleom. The two gripped the monster's metallic shielding, finding themselves clinging to its upper back. The two kindergarteners, Kat and Ana, touched down on the shoulders and hoisted Mario and Kirby up with abnormal strength.

"Man, you girls are strong," Kirby said.

Mario looked up to see the top of Galleom's head. It was domed, with a seam between the top and the rest of the head. "It has a subspace bomb," Mario said, "We've got to aim for that, before Galleom decides to blow up the entire city."

Kirby looked at the dome. "Can we do that?"

"Ike did it once," Mario pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that guy also had a heck of a lot more upper body strength too," Kirby replied.

Mario charged the dome, pelting it with fireballs. Galleom growled in irritation and knocked Mario off with a swing of his fist. Kirby used his Final Cutter move on the dome repeatedly while Kat and Ana hacked at it with their blades. Mario saw some sparks starting to fly from it.

"If I could get at that, I could probably finish it off, no problem," Link said, appearing at his side.

Mona stood a few feet away. She thought for a minute, before pulling a scoop of gelato out of her backpack and tossing it under the monster's feet. Galleom slipped and fell with a loud crash. Mario and Link hurried around to the head, as Kirby, Kat, and Ana got well out of the way. Link brought the Master Sword up and pierced it straight through the bomb. Galleom looked at Mario one last time with its bright LED eyes. For a second, its eyes turned briefly metallic that seemed strangely familiar to Mario. Then the eyes darkened and the monster shut down. A trickle of a strange metallic substance leaked down the monster's face.

"Collect that," Mario told Link, "Something tells me that that's important."

Link quickly pulled a small potions vial from his pouch, and let the metal drip into it. A loud clapping met their ears. The two stood to see an immensely obese man in a biker jacket and helmet with a long lightning shaped mustache walking toward them.

"Well, well, well, Mario, Link, and Kirby," he said, opening his large toothy mouth wide in a sinister grin, "What do you three think you're doing making a mess of my city?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: War Meeting

"Come on, Vil, hurry up!" Rock shouted.

"Yeah, Germ, what's the hold up?" Jazz added.

Villager stopped, gasping for air. He put his hands on his knees and looked back down at the stairs he had just come up. He was only halfway up the wooden staircase leading up to the Skyloft stage. He looked ahead to see that Rock and Jazz were nearly twenty feet ahead of him. He looked down at his pudgy belly and realized just how out of shape he was compared to his fellow newcomers. He hadn't thought much about it before, as he wasn't that much more out of shape than Mario was, but now, on this staircase, it felt painfully obvious.

"Hey, man," Rock said, "if you really need to use the balloon hat, we won't hold it against you."

"Yeah," Jazz said, "there's no need to torture yourself if you don't have to."

"No," Villager rasped. "I said I could climb this on my own, and I will."

Rock and Jazz looked at each other, shrugged, and kept climbing. After he had gone about twenty-five more steps, Villager had to stop again.

"There has got to be an easier way to do this," he said, "Isn't there an elevator or something."

"There is," someone said behind him.

Villager turned to see Toon Link slowly limping his way up the stairs. "Toon Link," he said, "Why are you using the stairs, in your condition, I mean?"

Toon Link chuckled. "Do you think I'm going to let a few injuries stop me," he said, "if I can't even manage these stairs, how can I expect to ever make it back into the competition?"

"Oh," Villager said, "I, uh, guess so." He bit his lip and started moving up. He felt like an idiot for complaining when Toon Link was right behind him, making the same climb with a handicap.

"How's your leg feeling?" Villager asked.

"Oh, it's fine," Toon Link said. "I've been through worse than this. Like how Wolf, Puff, and I got into subspace after Tabuu was defeated."

"Huh? You guys actually went to subspace?"

Toon Link nodded. "Yeah. We got there a little late. The three of us had teamed up with Sonic, but we had been sidetracked. R.O.B. 01 had secretly made contact with us just after Tabuu escaped and given us instructions to find and reawaken the Smash Ball in order to defeat him."

"The Smash Ball?"

"It was originally designed as a failsafe by the R.O.B.s in case the Hands failed their duties. They hid it away, deep inside Mr. Game & Watch's world, the Flat Zone. R.O.B. 01 chose the four of us because we would be overlooked by the subspace army when they were focusing on the heroes more in the forefront. It took us a very long time to find it. First to get into the Flat Zone in the first place, then to find the Smash Ball, then to get out. By the time we got back, the other heroes had already entered subspace. We knew we had to get the Smash Ball to them quickly, so Sonic went on ahead. The three of us went on and managed to get inside, but in a completely different region than the others. Unfortunately, we got stuck inside when the others killed Tabuu."

"How did you get out?"

Toon Link stopped. He opened his mouth to say something as though it were right on the edge of his tongue, but nothing came out. "I don't know," he said, "I . . . we were in subspace, we were trying to get out, we found a . . .box, I think. And then, I was on Tetra's ship. Tetra put a damp cloth on my head. She said I'd been sick. After that, I went back to my normal life. I think I even forgot about it until just now."

Villager and Toon Link finally made it to the top of the stairs and set foot on the soft grass of the Skyloft. Rock and Jazz stood waiting nearby.

"About time," Rock said, "We were starting to wonder if you had tripped and fell back to the bottom."

Jazz jabbed Rock with her elbow. "How are you today, Toon Link?" she asked.

"I'm doing just fine, thank you," he said, "Glad to see you both made it up okay."

The four heard a flutter of wings and turned to see Pit fly by. "Better hurry," he called back to them, "Samus is about to start the meeting."

"We'll be right there," Toon Link called back.

The four headed down a small dirt trail that led into the small duplicate village that made up most of the stage. They saw a small gathering in the center of the village where Samus stood on a raised platform with Donkey Kong and Pikachu. Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach stood nearby. Peach was as stunning as the pictures Villager had seen of her. She was a tall, graceful woman with long, flowing blonde hair and a frilly pink dress. She wore a cheerful smile on her face that seemed to lighten the mood of the entire gathering.

Villager, Rock, Jazz, and Toon Link made their way to the front of the crowd of workers to where Olimar sat on a patch of grass near the raised platform, surrounded by Pikmin. He nodded at them as they sat down. Villager looked up to see Pit land on a small ledge high above them and readied an arrow as though he were standing guard.

"Where's Fox?" Villager asked.

Olimar nodded to another high ledge where Fox sat with his gun at the ready.

"May I have your attention, please?" Samus said over the crowd. All eyes turned to her. "Thank you. I have called you all together this morning because of recent events that have transpired. Late last night, my fellow founder Fox McCloud overheard secret plans by Bowser and a number of other villains to overrun the Smash Grounds and take control of it for themselves. During that encounter, Fox discovered that Bowser and his minions had created a new dark version of the Smash Ball with power beyond anything we've seen so far. Fox barely managed to escape unharmed."

Her eyes briefly glanced up to where Fox was standing guard.

"Fox managed to learn that the villains plan to attack in three days' time. In preparation of this, I have sent out all acceptance letters in the hopes that we might be able to gather some more heroes in that time. With Mario, Kirby, and Link gone, we're going to need all the help we can get. I have also sent a letter to Mario as well, to explain our current situation. In the meantime, I want all crew members to prepare security measures within the next three days. I also want all present Smash fighters, including" she swallowed, "the three newcomers, to train around the clock in preparation for this threat."

Samus fixed Villager, Rock, and Jazz with an iron glare. "I expect you three to work hard in the next three days. I want you to prove I am wrong about you."

Villager gulped while Jazz pulled at her ponytail. All three nodded.

"Excuse me, Samus," Toon Link said, standing.

"Yes?" she asked, turning from the newcomers.

Toon Link straightened himself up as best as he could. "I would like to formally request my reinstatement as a Smash fighter."

"But, you're injuries," Samus started.

"I am fine," he said, "Better than fine, in fact. I am healing at a much faster rate than I imagined. I should be perfectly capable of competing in the Smash tournament when the time comes, and as for this impending invasion, well, you need all the fighters you can get. I don't intend to just sit on the sidelines."

Samus considered Toon Link for a moment. "Alright," she said, "As of this moment, Toon Link is once again a Smash fighter."

The small crowd clapped.

"Thank you," Toon Link said to her.

"You'll probably need my help too," Toad said excitedly, "After all, I am a pretty tough fighter myself—"

"No, Toad," Samus said, "For now, we need you to stay on bodyguard duty for Princess Peach, considering Bowser's proclivity for kidnapping her."

"Oh, come on," Toad whined, "I am just as good a fighter as anyone else here. If anything, I'm at least better than the kid and the guy with the vegetables."

Villager and Olimar looked at each other. "Did he just insult us?" Villager whispered.

"Probably," Olimar replied.

"I'm sorry, Toad," Samus said.

Toad slumped in disappointment. Peach patted him on his mushroom head. "Sorry, buddy," she said, "You'll get 'em next time."

"Now," Samus said, "You all have your assignments. I don't want to spend any more time on this than necessary in case Bowser might attempt to spy on us. You are dismissed."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Wario

"It seems like things have gotten quite messy around here," Peach said.

She and Luigi strolled through the Super Mario 3D Land stage in the 3DS section. Toad stood guard at the entrance. Peach brushed back her blonde hair as she looked at the replica of her castle nearby.

"Sure looks that way," Luigi said, stepping up to the water feature and tossing a small gold coin into it.

Peach smoothed out her dress. "And Mario's not here?"

Luigi shook his head. "No. He left here a few days ago. To look for me, actually."

Peach raised an eyebrow. "Did you send him a letter telling him you were here?"

"Oh, yeah. Right after I got here, I sent a letter with Parakarry. I figure he hasn't gotten the letter yet or he chose to keep investigating what happened."

"The explosion at Mona's pizza, you mean?"

Luigi nodded.

"Meanwhile, Bowser's gathered an army and intends to invade the Smash Grounds."

"Yeah, but we'll be fine," Luigi said, "We've kicked Bowser's butt a million and one times before."

"That's true, but never with an army of supervillains, some even more powerful than him. Plus, from what Fox described of his new power . . . ." Peach shuddered.

A swift breeze blew past them.

"Well, looks like you guys could use a little help," a jovial, laidback voice said. "Good thing you got the right hedgehog for the job."

Luigi and Peach turned to see a familiar blue hedgehog relaxing on a nearby platform and munching down a chili dog. "What's up, guys?"

Wario stood with his back to Mario, Link, and Kirby, staring out the window at the wreckage of Diamond City below. His office was huge and overflowing with gold coins. He had a swimming pool and work-out area off to one side that was probably never used. On the other side sat a small kitchen that reeked of garlic. Wario's desk was large and stately, with three pictures of himself positioned at different spots on the desk. The rest of the desk was taken up by enormous stacks of money and a tiny Wario bobblehead. Mona stood quietly at the side of the desk.

"Twice," Wario said slowly, "Twice this week, my city has been attacked, and you Smash Fighters have been in the middle of it. Even worse, my employee Mona has been endangered both times, and her restaurant destroyed. I've already paid for it to be fixed once. There are only so many times I can be charitable, you know."

Kirby scoffed. "Charitable?" he laughed, "I think we all know you only did it to get some—"

"Kirby," Mario warned.

Mona went red. Wario turned slightly.

"Free pizza," Kirby said quickly.

Wario turned to face them, picking up a stack of money from his desk and running it through his fingers. "I am trying to run a business here," he said, "A business I built from the ground up. If you weren't aware, we just released a new game, and I have a lot on my plate right now. I don't have time to clean up after you and your brother, Mario."

Mario took a deep breath. "I understand your concern, Wario," he said diplomatically. "We did not intend for any of this to happen, and we are sorry for any trouble it may cause you."

Mario and Wario stared at each other. Years of bitter rivalry, shaky friendship, and occasionally outright enmity passed between them. As much as they may not like each other, they knew each other better than most.

Wario sat at his desk. "Look, Mario," he said, "You and I have had our troubles, but I'd like to think we've reconciled our differences over the last year. However, there are limits to this newfound amity of ours. I have a business to run and a city to manage. I can't have you running around and making me look bad."

Mario nodded. "If you wish, we will leave here tonight. I simply came here looking for information about my brother."

Wario fanned himself with a stack of cash. "Well, I don't know anything, and, as I'm sure you are aware by now, he left here with his companions several days ago."

"I am aware," Mario said, "Although, I would like to ask you something?"

"What is that?"

"As I'm sure you expected, I do have good reason to suspect you, given your past. I need to know if you had anything to do with the explosion."

Wario picked up a gold coin and turned it over in his fingers. "I understand your suspicions, but I can assure you, I had nothing to do with it. I had been out of town promoting our new game. You can ask anyone."

"You could still have had someone else plant the bomb," Link pointed out.

"Good point," Wario said, "but a blast that close to my building? Far too risky. That's not my style. Plus, I have no reason to attack representatives from the Smash tournament. I am still waiting for _my_ acceptance letter this year, after all."

He gave Mario an expectant look.

"I'm . . . sure it's in the mail," Mario said, averting his eyes.

"Even excluding that, I have stock invested in that Pizza parlor. I would never do anything that could cost me money."

Mario considered this. "Alright," he said, "I guess I have no choice but to believe you. We'll follow other leads."

"You do that," Wario said, "Now, I hate to be inhospitable, but I must ask you to leave now."

"Thank you for your time," Mario said, standing. He looked at Mona. "Thanks for your help, Mona. I'm sorry about 9-Volt. I hope he gets better soon."

Mona smiled. "He'll be fine. He's a tough kid. I'll see you guys."

Mario, Link, and Kirby left the room, took the elevator down, and headed out of the building.

"So, what now?" Kirby asked, as they stepped out onto the street outside Wario Ware, Inc.

"Well," Mario said, pulling out the small vial of metallic substance that he had gathered from Galleom, "Since it's our only lead, I think it's time to visit an old friend of mine."

Wario and Mona stood at the window, watching as Mario, Link, and Kirby walked away from the building and disappeared into the crowd.

"They're gone," Mona said.

Wario nodded. He and Mona looked at each other, an unspoken but ever-present longing passing between them.

Wario coughed. "I suppose you ought to be heading home now. It's getting pretty late."

Mona blushed. "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

She headed for the door.

"Not a minute early," Wario called after her. "I ain't paying you overtime."

At the door, Mona looked back. Wario didn't look at her, but had become intensely interested in the edge of a silver coin. She rolled her eyes and walked out into the hall. As soon as the door closed, her eyes became glowing and metallic.

"Your monster failed," she said.

"He was never meant to succeed," a figure in the shadows said. "Where are they now?"

"They have left the city. What should we do?"

The figure remained silent for a moment. "You stay here with Wario," it said, "he is still valuable to us. I will follow Mario."

"Understood," Mona said.

Her eyes returned to normal and she walked down the hall to the elevator as if nothing happened.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Olimar vs. Villager

"Morning, Jazz!" Villager called out.

Jazz looked up to see Villager ascending the final step of the staircase leading up to the Battlefield stage. "Morning, Germ," she said with a smile.

Villager sat down on a small patch of grass next to her. "We have got to come up with a better nickname," he said, "Even Vil's better than Germ."

Jazz shrugged. "I like it."

Villager rolled his eyes.

"So where's Mega Man?" Jazz asked.

"He got a letter this morning requesting him for special training."

"Special training? Why does he get special training?"

Villager shrugged. "Maybe because he's a guest fighter. Of course, that would imply that there's another guest star here to give him special training."

Jazz looked up at him. "Do you think Snake or Sonic are here yet."

"Sonic, actually," Olimar's voice piped up. His large, helmet-encased head appear over the edge of the stage as he climbed the last few steps. "Showoff swooped in last night out of nowhere. We hadn't even sent out his acceptance letter yet. He just popped in, said he was in the neighborhood."

A flutter of wings alerted them to Pit as he dropped down out of the sky onto the stage. "Now, now, Olimar," he said, "there's no need for that kind of tone. Sonic's one of the best fighters out there, and we'll need his help."

"Ha," Olimar scoffed, "Easy for you to say. Out of all the newcomers last year, you were probably the only one he didn't steal the spotlight from."

"I don't know why you had a problem with him," Pit replied, "You didn't have a spotlight to steal in the first place."

Villager and Jazz snickered while Olimar bit the inside of his cheek. "Can we get on with the training?" he said.

"Sure thing," Pit said, shaking his head. "Alright, good morning, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer. As we've already discussed, Mega Man will not be joining us today as he will be training with Sonic. As for you two, you will be taking on the two of us one on one. Olimar against Villager, and myself against the Wii Fit Trainer."

"What?" Villager moaned. "Why do I have to be with Olimar?"

Olimar spread his hands. "Well, you don't have to say it like that."

"No offense," Villager replied, "It's just that . . .Pit's better."

"Oh, yeah," Olimar said, rolling his eyes, "There's no way I could ever take offense to _that_."

"Olimar's not as weak as he looks," Pit said.

"Excuse me?" Olimar interrupted.

"He's a skilled Smash fighter," Pit continued, ignoring him.

"He's a glorified delivery driver," Villager argued.

"Wow, you guys just aren't holding back, are you?" Olimar muttered.

"If you think so, Villager, then you should have no trouble beating him," Pit said, "You two are up first. Come on, Trainer. Let's head out to the bleachers."

Jazz nodded and stood. She grinned at Villager. "You so had that one coming."

Pit grabbed her under the arms and took off into the air, carrying her the short distance to the small bleachers floating in the air nearby. He nodded to the control booth, and a soft hum met their ears, signaling that the safety field had been activated. Olimar lazily cracked his knuckles and plucked a few Pikmin from the ground.

"You know, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this today," he said, "But for some reason, I'm strangely looking forward to it all of a sudden."

The announcer's deep voice boomed all around them. "Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . FIGHT!"

Olimar gave Villager an evil grin. "Hey, kid, you ever been beaten up by a 'glorified delivery driver' before?" He picked up a red Pikmin and twirled it around in his hands menacingly.

Villager balled up his fists, trying to remind himself of what he'd just said about Olimar, but for some reason, he could only think about those few battles Olimar won in last year's tournament. He remembered Olimar typically being a pushover, but on rare occasion he had proven himself a ruthless opponent. Villager tried to shake his head to get those thoughts out of his mind.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his bowling ball. He chucked it at Olimar, but Olimar was too fast. He jumped nimbly onto the small pass-through platform above him. He tossed the red Pikmin, which latched itself to Villager and started burning him wherever it touched. Olimar tossed a yellow one, which sent shocks of electricity through Villager's body. Vil shook off the Pikmin and hopped up onto the platform above him. He looked up at the sky where the combatants' vitals were displayed across the energy field. Olimar was still at 0%, but Villager's had gone up a few degrees. He had to get his head in the game. He couldn't lose to _Olimar_.

"Come on, kid," Olimar shouted. "With all that big talk, I expected more out of you. Is a bowling ball your only trick?"

Villager reached into his pocket, feeling around for his other weapons. "Aha," he said. He hopped up onto the topmost platform of the stage. He looked down to see Olimar staring up at him nonchalantly. He whipped out his potted plant and dropped it. Olimar easily sidestepped it, and it shattered on the platform. Olimar tossed a white Pikmin. The second it touched Villager he started to feel nauseous. Olimar hopped up to Vil's platform and nailed him with a good swift punch to the face.

"Ow," Villager complained, "Hey!"

Olimar shrugged and hopped over Villager's head.

"Where do you think you're going?" Villager shouted, pulling out his net and snagging Olimar in it. Unfortunately, this was just what Olimar wanted. In the brief split second he was trapped in the net, he let go of all of his Pikmin, dropping all five all over Villager. Villager let go of the net, desperately trying to get the Pikmin off of him. Reds, yellows, blues, and whites slowly upped his damage percentage until it was over one hundred. In his scramble to get them off, he slipped and fell over the edge of the platform, landing hard on the base platform below. Villager shook his head and looked up to see Olimar looking down at him and holding a fat purple Pikmin.

"Oh, no," Villager said.

"Oh, yes," Olimar said, letting go of the Pikmin. The purple dropped like a stone, hitting Villager with enough force to knock him off the stage altogether. As he fell, he saw the field approaching. Thinking quickly, he pulled his balloon cap out of his pocket and slipped it on his head. The balloons inflated, stopping his descent and carrying him back up to the stage. Just when he thought he had evaded defeat, he saw Olimar standing on the edge of the stage waiting for him, a Pikmin in each hand and a wide grin on his face.

"No! No!" Villager shouted.

With a flick of his wrist, Olimar threw one, popping the right balloon. He flicked his other wrist, and Villager plummeted straight through the barrier, vanishing in a flash of light.

"Come on, Rush!"

The newly rebuilt and freshly repainted red robot dog loped happily beside its master. Dr. Light had sent the dog back to Rock this morning, having completed all necessary repairs. Rock couldn't be happier as the two ran through the large open Windy Hills stage that he'd been assigned to report to this morning.

"Hey, Rush, fetch!" Rock said, popping out a small saw blade and sending it across the grassy field. Rush excitedly chased after it and caught it in his metallic mouth.

"Good boy!" Rock cheered.

A brief rush of wind blew past Rock. "Well, if it isn't my old friend Mega Man."

Rock turned to see Sonic the Hedgehog standing behind him, his iconic sideways grin on his face.

"Sonic," Rock said, "You're here."

"Well, of course," Sonic chuckled, "You didn't think I'd be late to the party _again_, did you? And since I'm here, I figured I might as well train my new successor as a guest fighter. What do you say?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Jazz vs. Pit

Bright light filled Jazz's view as she rematerialized on the small glowing regeneration platform. Getting a KO was an unsettling experience. Imagine falling to your death, then suddenly exploding into a thousand tiny particles of light. After a few moments of out-of-body fuzziness, you find yourself perfectly whole and healthy, standing on a circle of light. The first time it happened, Jazz could have sworn she had died and found herself in heaven. It didn't help that an angel was the first thing she saw once the light cleared.

After Villager had lost to Olimar eight times out of ten, one of the other times winning out of sheer dumb luck, Pit had decided to give them a rest, and they were now sitting in the small bleachers alongside Samus. Samus had turned up about Olimar and Villager's fourth round. She didn't say anything, she just sat and observed. Jazz got the impression about three rounds later that she was not impressed with Villager's performance. Jazz had now just lost her first three rounds with Pit, and she was pretty sure she wasn't making any better impressions on Samus.

She hopped nimbly down from her platform to face Pit again. The angel was leaning back against one of the floating platforms, twirling his bow in his hand.

"You doing alright, Wii Fit Trainer?" Pit asked, "We can take a break."

Jazz shook her head, determined to prove herself. "No. I'm not quitting. Let's go again."

"Okay," Pit shrugged. He signaled to the crew and the announcer's voice boomed once again, beginning the round. Pit flapped his wings and hopped up onto a higher platform. Jazz stayed low. She focused, trying hard to think of a way she could beat him. From their previous three battles, she had observed that he was quick and agile. He had flight capabilities, which gave him a number of advantages she lacked. One of his main strong points was that he could inflict a good deal of damage quickly with a number of moves, with some good strong KOing moves to back them up. She remembered Villager saying that Pit had been one of the highest ranked newcomers of last year's tournament, and she was starting to see why.

She jumped up onto one of the middle platforms and looked up to see Pit standing patiently watching her. She knew from experience that it was unwise to dive headfirst into combat with Pit. Some strategy was required. But what?

Pit twirled his bow around and decided to make his move. He jumped down onto Jazz's platform and struck at her with the pieces of his bow. Luckily for her, she was also quick. Not quite quick enough, though, as the blade in his left hand damaged her. Thanks to the energy field, the blade left no visible wound on her arm, but she felt the pain clearly, and she could sense that her damage ratio had gone up. She focused on going down, and immediately passed through the stone of the platform, finding herself on the base platform once again. She hurriedly ran to the other side before Pit could follow her. She hopped up onto the other platform and turned to see that Pit hadn't moved yet. Was he toying with her? What was he doing? Jazz bit her lip in frustration.

She looked up at the scores projected across the energy field. Her damage percentage had gone up a little bit. Pit's score sat next to hers at a perfect zero. She didn't want to attack him head-on and do something stupid, especially with Samus scrutinizing her every move, but just sitting here doing nothing without a lick of strategy in mind while he hadn't even been touched was driving her crazy.

Pit flapped his wings and hopped off of his platform towards Jazz's. She was out of time. She decided to just wing it and hope she got lucky. She jumped to meet him in midair and threw out a punch in his direction. To her surprise, the hit connected. It didn't do much damage, but it was enough to mess up Pit's jump, causing them both to fall to the ground in the center of the stage.

Pit was up in a matter of seconds. He slashed at Jazz with his blades before she had time to react. He continued to slash at her, adding some combo attacks into the mix. Jazz barely had time to use a counter-strategy as hit after hit came. She jumped out of range of his bow and back up onto a platform.

"Come on, Jazz," Pit said, "Don't be timid now."

Jazz breathed heavily and glanced up at her damage meter. Up to a hundred now. Pit hopped up behind her. She reacted quickly, using one of her patented yoga attack moves to strike him in the chest. She added to this by striking again with her other hand. Deciding to try for combo moves like Pit had, she swung her leg out and knocked Pit from the platform. She glanced at the bleachers and noticed Samus watching her intently. She couldn't fail here. She had to at least make an impression.

She fell through the platform to be on the same level as Pit. "Are you ready to get serious now?" he asked.

Jazz didn't reply, running forward and sliding into Pit's legs knocking him off his feet. He countered by slashing at her as he got back up. Jazz was knocked back, giving Pit enough time to nock a light arrow and shoot her with it. She came at him again, getting in a few good hits before Pit connected his bow and spun it around, racking up a lot of damage. As the spinning slowed, Jazz took the opportunity to strike. Pit reeled back from the blow and shook his head. "Not bad."

Jazz grinned. Maybe, just maybe, she might have a chance at beating him. His damage was high enough now. She attempted her finisher. She stamped her foot on the ground and thrust towards Pit with her arms in the same way she had demonstrated to Mario, Link, and Kirby on her first day, sending him flying off the stage. Her hopes were dashed quickly however as Pit regained his composure and flapped back toward the stage.

_No_, Jazz thought, she had to end this here.

She whipped out her hula hoops and placed them around herself, gyrating her hips to get them flying. She soared up through the air towards Pit. Pit saw her coming and attacked. His strike connected, knocking her out of the air, but her hula hoop maneuver was powerful enough to knock him back through the energy field. She watched him vanish in a flash of light seconds before she did so herself.

When she reformed on the light platform, she saw Pit on a platform next to her. Her face was displayed across the energy field, proclaiming her the winner. She grinned and looked down at the bleachers to see only Villager and Olimar enthusiastically chanting their own made-up crowd cheer of her name. Samus had left.

"Take this!"

Sonic struck Rock hard in the back of the head while curled up in a high-powered ball form. The blow was hard enough to knock Rock off the platform he was standing. He stood up to see Sonic grinning down at him with his arms folded across his chest. Rock raised his left arm and fired off an energy ball which Sonic sidestepped easily.

"You're too slow," he taunted. He jumped and hit Rock with a downward kick. Rock retaliated by shooting fire at the ground at Sonic's feet. Sonic chuckled and stepped back. He turned his head to see someone walking toward them across the stage. "Well, good morning, Samus," he said, "Nice of you to drop by."

Samus nodded curtly. "I see your training session is going well," she said, glancing at Rock.

"Oh yeah," Sonic said, "We've got some history of competing with each other, so this is all old news for us."

"Good, well," she said, addressing Rock, "you do seem to be the most competent of our three newcomers. I need to ask a favor of the both of you."

"Name it," Sonic said with a grin.

She took a deep breath. "Our forces are small, and the other two new recruits are a disappointment. We need reinforcements fast."

"Fast is what I do," Sonic said.

"The both of you competed in that underground tournament held not far from here, right?"

"Sure, the Flash Fighters," Rock said.

"I was wondering if the two of you might be willing to run down there and see if any other fighters might be willing to come to our aid. We're running out of options."

Sonic scratched at his chin. "I'll see what I can do," he said, "I think Tails should be down there right now."

"Please do," Samus said. She turned to go.

"Hey," Rock called out. Samus looked back. "Don't count Vil and the Trainer out yet. They're not as weak as you think."

"I'd like to agree with you, Mega Man," she said, "But their performance so far has been less than impressive in their training, and their contributions to the fight with the Yellow Devil were minimal at best with both sustaining major injuries. I cannot in good conscience allow a pair of inexperienced civilians to participate in the upcoming battle. I'm sorry."

With that, she turned and walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Professor Elvin Gadd

Samus rubbed her forehead as she walked through the smash grounds, sorting through the batch of letters she was on her way to mail off. Pikachu scampered along the ground next to her.

"What do we do, Pikachu?" she asked.

The little yellow rodent looked up at her and responded with a cheerful "Pii-KAAA!"

Samus smiled. Out of all of her fellow Smash fighters, Pikachu was probably one of the few she felt real affection for. She knelt down and rubbed Pikachu's head, not even flinching as static electricity snapped at her hand. She pulled out one of the berries she kept on her and fed it to him. Pikachu thanked her with a contented "chu!"

Samus breathed heavily. The impending villain attack on the Smash Grounds was nearly upon them, and despite her best efforts, they were far from ready.

Pikachu's ears perked up. He sat up on his hind legs and looked around, sniffing the air.

"What is it, boy?" Samus asked.

Instead of answering, Pikachu took off in the direction of the gate. "Hey, wait!" Samus shouted, chasing after him. She chased him halfway through the Wii U Grounds before he finally stopped at the chain link fence. He stood tense, watching something in the forest. Samus looked in the direction of his gaze, but saw nothing but trees. Then, she saw it.

At the edge of the tree line stood a strange blue-and-black creature staring right at them. It looked sort of like a deer, with eight massive intertwining antlers. An almost majestic aura emanated from it, filling Samus with replenished energy.

"What is that?" she asked.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the deer creature turned slowly around and trotted back into the forest, vanishing into the trees.

"Okay," Kirby said, "why in the heck does this old geezer live way out here in the middle of this creepy valley?"

Mario shrugged. "He studies ghosts. He goes where the work is."

Mario, Link, and Kirby made their way through the dark and eerie Evershade Valley. Knotted trees draped with moss loomed all around them. A moon shone down upon them, filling them with a strange calming sensation. Every now and then, they heard the cackle of a ghost from behind a tree. Although Mario had assured him the ghosts were friendly because of the moon's effect, Kirby still wasn't convinced.

"Let's just talk to this egad guy and get out of here," he said.

"Personally, I like it here," Link said, "It kind of reminds me of the Kokiri forest where I grew up."

"Well, that's easy for you to say," Kirby said, "You've fought zombies, you're used to fighting the dead."

"First off, they're called redead, not zombies. There's a big difference. Second, weren't you the one who fought the giant eyeball that squirts blood as an attack?"

"Please, ghosts and zombies are way scarier than giant blood-squirting eyeballs."

"Uh-huh, sure," Link said.

"Guys," Mario said, "enough already." He turned around and stopped. For a brief second, he thought he saw someone watching him from the nearby tree. Something that definitely wasn't a ghost.

"Um, Mario, are you okay?" Link asked.

"Yeah," he said, "let's just keep going."

Mario turned back around, and the three continued down the trail. After a few minutes, they came to a large clearing where a tiny shack stood before five giant mansions. Mario stepped up to the shack and knocked on the door.

"Of course," Kirby said, "he lives in the shack, when he could have his pick of any of the mansions. The guy really is crazy. Can we go now?"

"No," Mario said, "We have to get to the bottom of all this. We have to know who's behind it."

"I know who's behind it," Kirby said. "It's obviously King Dedede."

Mario and Link looked at him incredulously. "You always think it's King Dedede," Link said.

"And it always is," Kirby replied.

"No," Mario said, "It never is. In fact, most of the time, he's actually the one working to stop the real villain. So far, I'm pretty sure you've only been right about him once, and that was the first time."

"He stole all my food. I'm not going to just let that go."

Mario and Link rolled their eyes as the shack door opened. Standing before them was a tiny, frail old man in a lab coat with gigantic opaque spectacles and a single wisp of ghostly white hair.

"_Yabbo, yabbo,_" the old man said in his customary greeting. He squinted up at his visitors through his giant glasses. "Oh, Mario," he said, "so nice to see you. And these must be your friends from that tournament thing of yours."

Mario nodded. "Hello, Professor Gadd," he said, "this is Link and Kirby. We're here because—"

"Because Luigi told you what happened and you wanted to come and see what you could do to save them," the old man guessed.

"Um, huh?" Mario said. He glanced back at his companions in confusion. "No, we haven't seen Luigi. We were searching for him."

Professor Gadd squinted at Mario. "Well, he left here a long time ago. I've been trying to free his friends since then."

"Wait, what friends?" Link asked.

"Oh, um, you three had best follow me," the old man said.

He led them down the staircase into his underground laboratory. The lab was an enormous room filled to the brim with all sorts of strange and fantastical inventions that the professor had created. Mario could see Luigi's old Poltergust 3000 vacuum alongside a newer model. Alongside one wall sat Mario's old FLUDD machine next to the large paintbrush Bowser's son had used to terrorize Isle Delfino. An entire section in the back was devoted to all of the karts Professor Gadd had designed for the Mushroom Kingdom Grand Prix that Peach often held. At the forefront of all of this mess was the professor's machine that could convert ghosts into paintings and vice versa.

"Right through here, boys," Professor Gadd said, unlocking the door of a side room. He pushed open the door and let them walk through. Mario, Link, and Kirby stepped into the large open room that served as the gallery for Gadd's ghost paintings. The professor stepped through after them. "The far wall," he said.

The trio looked to the opposite end of the gallery where two paintings hung side by side surrounded by a number of scientific instruments. As they got closer, the images on the paintings became clearer. Mario's eyes widened as he recognized the images of a middle-aged man in a jumpsuit and helmet and a young boy in a red baseball cap, each with a look of pure horror on their faces.

"Douglas . . . Ness . . . ," Mario said, gaping at the painting.

Professor Gadd nodded. "Luigi said they were attacked on the way here, and the two ended up like this. I promised I'd do everything I could to save them, but so far, nothing's worked. It's made from something I've only heard about in rumor."

Link stepped forward and cautiously pressed his hand against the painting of Ness. The canvas rippled silver like liquid metal on contact. Something clicked in Mario's memory. "I've seen this before," he said.

Link dug in his pouch and pulled out the small vial of liquid they had collected from Galleom. "It looks like this," he said, uncapping it. He handed it to Professor Gadd. "This is why we came to you."

Gadd lifted his glasses and squinted into the vial. After a couple of moments studying the contents, he nodded. "Yes," he said, "That's it."

Mario kept staring at the paintings. He knew he'd seen that ripple effect before. Something . . . something from a long time ago. Something in his mind told him it had to do with Peach's castle. Something in the basement. But he just couldn't put his finger on it.

_Mario,_ a voice whispered faintly in his mind.

"Ness?" he said.

_Mario . . . look out . . . Luigi . . ._

"What?"

"What is it, Mario?" Link asked.

"Um, guys," Kirby interrupted, "Something's happening."

He was right. The paintings were shifting, morphing. The images of Captain Falcon and Ness were pushing their way out of the paintings, taking on a three-dimensional shape. As they did so, the colors vanished, leaving them simply a grayish, metallic color. They stepped out onto the marble floor with a metal clank. As soon as they were fully formed, the metal beings looked up at them with glowing eyes like Galleom's.

"This is . . . ," Link stuttered.

"I knew I recognized it before," Mario said, "It's the metallic goop from Hazy Maze Cave in Peach's dungeon. It's . . . Metal Mario."

"Well done, Mario," a voice said from behind them. "Too bad you don't know the whole story yet."

The group turned to see a man leaning against the wall behind them. Mario knew his face well. He'd interviewed him two years before for consideration in the second smash tournament, but had eventually passed him over in favor of the Ice Climbers, Popo and Nana. The man was wearing a torn blue shirt with slightly charred red pants and a long white scarf around his neck. The only thing missing from his ensemble was his signature balloon hat that Mario had given to Villager. He grinned at them, his eyes the same glowing, metallic color as Captain Falcon and Ness's.

"Ace," Mario said.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Nintendog House

Villager and Jazz slumped down together on one of the benches placed around the 3DS Grounds. After a long, grueling day of training against Pit and Olimar, with each taking a turn against each trainer, and then against each other, they were worn out, tired, hungry, and worst of all, dejected. After Samus had left, she had never returned. As they continued to fight and train, they started to win more often, but their wins were still vastly overshadowed by their losses.

"What are we going to do?" Villager asked, breathing heavily.

Jazz put her head in her hands, massaging at a headache. "I don't know," she said.

"You don't think Samus would kick us out, do you?"

Jazz shook her head. "I don't think so," she said, "Not with the threat of villains at our gate."

The sounds of a conversation met their ears. They looked up to see Toon Link walking towards them, back in his iconic green tunic, accompanied by a young man who looked almost identical to him who was now wearing his old engineer's uniform. As they approached, the other person walked off towards the Spirit Train, giving a quick wave back to his doppelganger. Toon Link continued on the path toward them, limping slightly, but otherwise walking just fine. He didn't even have his crutches today.

"Hey, guys," he said as he approached, "How was training?"

Jazz leaned her head back. "Do you really want to know?"

Toon Link looked at them sympathetically. "That bad, huh?"

Villager rested his hands on his knees. "We tried so hard to make a good impression and we failed," he said, "We wanted to prove we were good enough to be here. We wanted to be able to contribute to this fight, but I think Samus thinks we're a lost cause."

"Well, Samus is a tough nut to crack," he said, "but she knows combat better than any of us. I'd wager she's probably been through more than most of us here. Almost everyone she has ever cared about has been killed in action. Because of that, she can be cold and stern, but she's also very careful and meticulous in everything she does. That's something we need right now."

Villager and Jazz looked at him but didn't say anything.

"Look," he said, sitting down next to them, "The first few weeks of training are tough for every newcomer. At least you haven't been called a cheap knockoff of someone else. Just try to make a comeback from that, because I'll tell you, it's not easy. For a while there, I was afraid I wouldn't be invited back this year."

Villager and Jazz remained silent. Toon Link sighed.

"Alright," he said, "You two, come with me. I think it's time you saw my favorite new stage."

He stood and started limping away. He turned back to see them still on the bench. "Well, come on. Don't make have to show you the reason the Helmaroc King trembles at the mere mention of my name."

Villager and Jazz looked at each other and shrugged. They stood and followed him. He led them through the 3DS Grounds all the way to the far end. He stopped at a massive building that looked like an ordinary house but at ten times the scale. Villager had seen houses just like it back in Animal Crossing.

"Through here," Toon Link said, opening a small access door next to the ordinary door. The three stepped through into pitch blackness. Toon Link flipped a switch, lighting up the stage. Villager and Jazz gasped as they looked around to see that they were standing in a massive, open, fully furnished house strewn with a number of books and toys littered all over the floor.

Toon Link put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. "Here, Epona!"

A loud jingling met their ears as a gigantic Jack Russell Terrier puppy loped around the corner, heading straight for the group. Its tail wagged, slamming into walls with tremendous force as it went, while its ten foot tongue flopped up and down through the air, flinging gallons of saliva everywhere.

"Good boy, Epona," Toon Link said, "Come to daddy."

"Epona?" Villager asked, "Isn't that Link's horse?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't get a horse," Toon Link replied, "So I get to use the name however I darn well please."

"Okay," Villager mumbled. "Come here, Epona," he said. He'd always had an affinity with animals, which was probably the reason he had moved to an entire town full of them. At first a little timid, he reached up and scratched the dog's nose, while the massive canine simply lapped up the attention.

"Yes, you're a good boy, aren't you," he said in his high-pitched talking-to-dogs voice. "Hey, Jazz, come check this out."

He turned to see Jazz standing as far from the dog as she could. "What's the matter? You aren't afraid of dogs, are you?"

Jazz looked at him incredulously. "No, no, no, I'm not _afraid_ of dogs. I don't _like_ dogs. Humongous monster dogs, that's a different story."

"Don't worry," Toon Link said, "He's perfectly tame. Nothing to be afraid of."

Jazz swallowed and stepped forward a little, extending her hand. "Good boy," she said, shaking, "Good monster. Please don't eat me."

The puppy nuzzled her pale palm, sniffing it. Jazz seemed to relax.

"See," Villager said, "Nothing to worry about."

Without warning, the dog's wet, slobbery tongue spilled out of its mouth and smothered her in a particularly juicy puppy kiss. Jazz remained frozen in horror, now covered in a nice thick layer of oozing doggie drool.

Villager and Toon Link tried in vain to hold back their laughter. Jazz slowly turned her head toward them. "You know what," she said, taking a step toward them, "You two are such great friends, you deserve a nice big hug." She spread her dripping arms wide and came after them.

"Uh oh," Villager said, "We're in trouble now, Toon Link."

"Run, Villager, run!" Toon Link shouted.

The two ran off through the dog's playhouse, pursued by a slimy Wii Fit Trainer and a cheerful puppy happy to have some playmates. As they ran through the playhouse and up over some oversized books, they looked back to see Jazz struggling to maintain her traction while pursuing them.

Villager laughed, then turned to run smack into someone's painfully firm gut and fall to the floor dazed. He sat up and blinked to see a tall, physically fit man with dark curly hair and pale skin just like Jazz's.

"Oops, sorry about that, little guy," the man said.

Villager stood with some help from Toon Link. "Who are you?" he asked. He looked back to see that Jazz had stopped chasing them and now stood frozen and was looking at the man like he was something disgusting she had found in her bathtub. The newcomer grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, babe," he said, pushing Villager and Toon Link out of the way and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. From the look on her face, Villager had the feeling she was only allowing him to touch her like that so as to let him get the remaining dog drool all over him. "I figured you might be getting lonely out here, so I put in an application to join you. Keep you safe, you know."

Jazz looked at him with visible irritation on her face. "Gee, thanks," she said, although she clearly wanted to say something else, "It's _so_ great to have you here, Garrett."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Flash Arena

Sonic's feet blurred as he ran through the countryside surrounding the Smash Grounds. He threw his head back, letting the wind fly through the blue spines on the back of his head. _Ah, yeah,_ he thought to himself, _now that's the stuff_. _This is what makes it all worth it_. He loved that feeling of the wind blowing past his face as he ran. There had been many times over the years that he had wondered what it would be like to just settle down and stay in one place, maybe next to Tails' lab, or on Angel Island with Knuckles, heck, maybe even with Amy. But his restless spirit would never let him stay in one place too long, and he knew, every time he felt that wind in his face, that he never could.

He looked to his left to see Rock flying beside him on Rush's back. The blue robot had a large grin on his face as he and Rush kept up with Sonic at breakneck speeds.

"Must be nice," Sonic said.

"What?" Rock called over the immense noise that Sonic could hear every time he ran.

"I said it must be nice," Sonic called back, "To have a permanent home to go back to all the time."

"Um, yeah, I guess," Rock said.

"How have things been, by the way? How is everyone? Doctor Light and Roll and such?"

"Oh, um, they're good, I guess," Rock said, his face turning a color oddly reminiscent of a blush, "Roll—Roll's good. Dr. Light, too . . . of course."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" Rock said, looking away.

"You're acting like you're embarrassed," he said. Something occurred to him. "Wait a minute, you don't have a thing for Roll, do you? Isn't she like your sister?"

"We're robots," Rock said defensively, "we're not _technically_ related."

"But you were both built by the same person."

"That means nothing. And don't judge me. You're the hedgehog who once made out with a human."

"Hey, she kissed me, and it was only to save my life. Plus, I thought there was a rule to never speak of that game ever again."

"Okay," Rock said, "Still, sorta sister is better than furry fantasy."

"Oh, please, it is so not."

The two continued to squabble as they crested a hill to see the Flash Fighter Arena in the valley below. The arena looked like a typical stadium with surround seating and a large fighting ring in the middle that could be customized into a number of different stages based upon audience preference. Banners were draped all around the outside of the stadium, showing off the symbols of a number of the Smash regulars as well as many others. A banner depicting a cartoonish bomb represented Sonic and Rock's friend Bomberman, while a symbol shaped like a leaf with a spiral in the middle signified the young ninja Uzumaki Naruto.

Sonic and Rock descended into the valley, unease setting in as they approached. When Sonic left here only a few days ago, the tournament had been in full swing. Fighters like Naruto, Bomberman, Son Goku, Sora, Lloyd Irving, and even Sonic's best friend Tails had been competing in match after match with each other. Now, the arena appeared to be as silent as the ARK space colony. No cheers went up from the crowd, no explosions from Goku letting off a massive Kamehameha, or anything. Speeding through the entrance, they stepped into the arena itself to find the entire place abandoned. No fighters, no crowds, nothing. The ring was left in its Battlefield format, similar in design to the one back on the Smash Grounds. Lying in the middle of the stage was something small, yellow, and furry.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted, jumping up onto the stage.

Rock hopped off of Rush, and the two followed him. When Sonic reached his friend, he rolled him over to find that he was unconscious, badly bruised, but alive. "What happened here?" Sonic said, cradling the young fox in his arms. "Where are all the fighters?"

"I don't know," Rock replied, "But something about all of this really feels like a—"

A soft whooshing sound alerted them to two halves of a clear glass dome bursting from the ground on either side and trapping them inside.

"Trap," Rock finished.

"Man," Sonic said, "This trap again. I swear I fall for it every single time. Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Unleashed, you'd think I would have learned by now."

"My words exactly, Sonic."

Sonic and Rock turned to see a pair of men step out of the shadows: one tall, egg-shaped, and sporting a bushy brown mustache, the other shorter and sporting a gray, equally bushy mustache.

"Doctor Eggman!" Sonic shouted.

"Doctor Wily!" Rock said.

"Hello, boys," Eggman said with a sinister grin, "Sorry about this, but we've been paid quite handsomely to keep you two out of the way while the Nintendo villains invade the Smash Grounds."

"Where are the other fighters, and the audience?" Rock demanded.

Eggman and Wily chuckled at each other. "It's the funniest thing," Dr. Wily said, "It seems they all had to go. Something about Orochimaru, Frieza, Aizen, Bagura, Xenahort, Mithos, and Sephiroth all attacking each's respective world at the same time. Quite the coincidence, wouldn't you say, Ivo?"

Dr. Eggman chuckled. "Why, yes, Albert, quite the coincidence, indeed. Now, you two behave and don't try anything funny, or else some poor captive audience members could get hurt."

Dr. Wily pressed a button on a small remote, changing the ground beneath Sonic and Rock's feet to a clear floor through which they could see a number of civilians from numerous worlds trapped beneath them.

Rock looked up at them, raising his gun arm. "How dare you?" he shouted. "Let them go."

"Oh, I would love to, Rocky," Dr. Wily said, "The problem is, if I did, I'd lose my leverage. You see, I know you both can get out of there easily, but I know you won't if there's a chance someone innocent could get hurt." He held up his remote and gestured to a large button in the center.

Rock glared at Dr. Wily, lowering his gun. Dr. Wily smiled. "That's my boy."

"So, that's it, then," Samus said as she scanned the map of the Smash Grounds laid out on the desk before her. "We've done all we can to prepare. All we can do now is get some rest before they attack tomorrow."

She looked around at her companions. Luigi, Donkey Kong, Fox, Olimar, Pit, Peach, and Toad all stood around her in the office, each wearing a wide range of expressions from optimism to concern. Pikachu fidgeted on Samus's lap. Even he understood that the situation was grave.

The communications module on the desk beeped. Samus pressed the button. "Go," she said.

"Hey, you guys might want to get down here," said the voice of one of Toad's small brigade of Mushroom People that had been left to watch the gate.

"What is it?" Samus said.

"It looks like we've got an army approaching our east side. At least a thousand, maybe more."

Samus's companions looked up at her.

"They can't be moving on us already, can they?" Pit asked.

"Well, if they are, we have to be ready to stop them," Fox said, cocking his blaster.

"Let's go," Samus said. She picked up her helmet and fixed it on her head. Leaving the office, the group made their way as quickly as they could to the east gate. They approached to find Toad's blue-spotted companion staring out into the distance, quivering slightly.

"What is it, Buckenberry?" Toad asked.

"Just over that ridge," the blue Mushroom Person said.

Samus squinted out into the night. She couldn't see anything with her normal vision, but the readouts on her helmet indicated a massive heat signature coming from that direction. The Smash Fighters waited with increasing trepidation as a single humanoid head peeked up over the horizon. The figure came more and more into view as thousands of other heads started to appear as well. The leader walked calmly toward their gates, his cape blowing in the cool evening air. He was dressed in light blue garb with black armor around his chest and shoulders, and he had his hand on a familiar sword dangling at his hip. As he came closer, his face came into focus as Samus recognized his fine blue hair and slender, boyish face. Behind him, Samus recognized warriors wearing the armor of Altea, Talys, and various other nations from the continent of Akaneia.

"Marth," she said.

Marth showed off a dazzling smile and pulled his gleaming sword Falchion from its sheath. "Hello, all," he said, "Did somebody call for some help?"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: Metal Mario

"Restrain the other two," Ace told the metallic copies of Captain Falcon and Ness.

Obediently, the two complied. Falcon grabbed Link's wrist from behind and twisted it, forcing him to let go of his sword, then forcibly ripped the shield from his other arm. Ness chose a simpler route, trapping Kirby inside a psychic bubble.

"Ow, hey!" Link shouted.

"Let me out of this," Kirby demanded.

"Now," Ace said with a grin, "I'd like to have a nice little chat with my target, Mario."

He took a step forward. Professor Gadd stepped between them. "Now, this is enough," he told the balloon fighter, "I want you out of my laboratory this instant."

Keeping his glowing eyes fixed on Mario, Ace extended his hand toward the old man. Metallic liquid ran down the hand that shot straight for Professor Gadd and sharpened into a blade with enough force to pierce straight through him and out his back.

"Professor!" Mario shouted.

Ace held his fingers to his lips as if shushing Mario. He retracted the metal, letting the professor crumple to the floor.

"Watch now," Ace said.

Mario looked down at Elvin Gadd's lifeless form to see the puncture wound from the blade healing itself. In a matter of seconds, the hole was completely gone. The professor sat up and shook his head, opening his eyes to reveal that they were the same metallic color as Ace's. He stood and walked over calmly to stand by Ace.

"What is this?" Mario asked. "What have you done to him? What have you done to them? Who are you?"

"Now, really, Mario," Ace said, stepping slowly towards Mario, the metal from his eyes slowly spreading out across his face, "you just said my name mere moments ago. Do you not remember?"

"Metal Mario?" Mario said, "But how?"

Ace tisked and shook his head, the metal now reaching his ears and the tip of his nose. "Oh, Mario, how many years has it been that we have fought together and against each other, and still you know nothing about me. It's sad, really?"

Mario watched as the metal ooze dripped down Ace's face and over the edge of his chin.

"When was our first adventure together? Super Mario 64, right?"

"Hazy Maze Cave," Mario nodded.

"Ah, yes, that's right," Ace said, "I helped you get a few of the castle stars, am I right? I remember I was quite helpful in the underwater and poison gas segments."

Mario nodded. The metal ooze had now covered the top half of Ace's torso. "But you were just a special hat."

"Was I? Think back, when was the next time you saw me?"

Mario thought for a moment. That had been so many years ago. He'd been on so many adventures since then, it was hard to keep track of them all. "The first Smash tournament. You challenged me in Metal Cave."

"That's right, Mario," Ace said, the metal ooze now covering all but his legs. "Master Hand created me, and sent me to your world through item boxes so that I could study your fighting style. You see, he was most threatened by you, Mario, and he wanted to make sure that he had a failsafe in case you turned on him in the tournament. I failed in my task, obviously, and Master Hand was defeated. When the second tournament came around, he made sure I wouldn't fail by creating another. In the end, we both proved inadequate."

Mario glanced down to see the last bits of Ace's feet become smothered in liquid metal.

"Master Hand intended to try again the next year, creating a third brother to aid us in our mission. But then Tabuu escaped and enslaved our master, leaving the three of us trapped in an item box deep within subspace. After our master was killed, we had consigned ourselves to be trapped there forever. That is until three of your allies found us. I believe their names were Jigglypuff, Wolf, and Toon Link."

Mario remained silent. He had been through enough battles to know to never give away what he was thinking in case the enemy tried to use it against him. He glared at the metal Ace, trying not to pay too much attention as the ooze started to shift and change shape, starting with the formation of a much more bulbous nose.

"We hitched a ride on them," Ace grinned, "And in return, we provided a way out of subspace. But without our master, we are weak and unstable in this world, only capable of manipulating the bodies of others. Since then, we have sought only one goal: to merge with those whose form we have taken and become whole once more."

The metal around Ace's waist thickened out a bit as a hat-shaped growth sprouted from the top of his head.

"What about them?" Mario said, gesturing his head towards Captain Falcon, Ness, and Professor Gadd.

Ace shrugged. "Offshoots," he said, "That's a recent discovery. We found that if we injected a bit of ourselves into another, we can control them. I can only imagine what my brother at the Smash Grounds has been able to accomplish."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"Oh, of course," Ace said with a smile, "You don't know what's been going on at the Smash Grounds. You have no idea that your dear friends are currently at the brink of war with an army of villains, all the while having no idea that a much greater threat lurks among them."

The metal ooze stopped shifting, the image of Ace long gone, leaving Mario staring at a perfect steel replica of himself. The Mario copy looked down at himself and smiled. "Of course, you and your friends have a more pressing problem to worry about right now."

He thrust out his hand, sending a sharp shaft of iron straight at Mario's heart.

"Today, the Smash Grounds will fall, Kamek."

Bowser and Kamek stood together on a wooden platform overlooking the new Kid Icarus stage, the spot they had selected for the arrival of their army.

"Yes, my lord," Kamek said, fixing his glasses and looking at the trophy stand in his hands. He bit his lip. "Are you sure about this, my lord? Do you not worry that we are, perhaps, going a little too far?"

"Are you questioning me, Kamek?" Bowser snarled menacingly.

"Heavens no, my lord, but . . . this plan of yours. It's not like you. Almost all of your plans have been no more malicious than kidnapping the princess. But this . . . my lord, you've killed one of the Smash Fighters. And I . . . I have a bad feeling about using this new power of yours."

"Just do what I tell you, Kamek. It's not your place to question me."

"Of course, my lord," Kamek said.

"Now, is the trophy stand ready?"

"Yes, my lord." Kamek held up the trophy stand and a shard of Tabuu's wing. "The energy from the shard should give the stand enough power to create a perpetual portal to Ganondorf's stand."

"Good. The time is right. Activate it."

Kamek held together the objects and whispered some incantations. Bright light emanated from them and started to swirl out and around the two koopas. The stand and shard merged into a glowing orb of light, rising out of Kamek's hands and high above their heads. The orb flashed, and a brown, chestnut-like Goomba appeared, falling and bouncing on the ground before them. Another flash, and a Koopa turtle appeared. Another deposited a greenish, bladed space pirate. A leech-like Like Like. A hairy, beaked Topi bird. A green and scaly Kremling. More and more creatures appeared one after another. Eventually some of the leaders started to show up as well. Emerging from the light, a grayish-green skinned warlock with bright red hair descended gracefully, brandishing a sword with eager bloodlust in his eyes.

"Well, done," the warlock said, turning to look at Bowser and Kamek as the villain army kept growing and growing around him.


End file.
